Meralco coach Norman Black is keeping his faith on import Arinze Onuaku despite his lack of offensive production in the Bolts' upset of defending PBA Commissioner's Cup champion San Miguel last Wednesday.
Onuaku scored just 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting but heaped praises from Black for the intangibles he provided in helping the Bolts weather the challenge of facing June Mar Fajardo, import Troy Gillenwater and rookie Christian Standhardinger.
The Best Import in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup added 12 points, eight assists and two blocks in 43 minutes against the Beermen. He is averaging 19.8 points, 17.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks through four games this conference.
"You can see the difference of having a center like Arinze on our team because he helps us control the middle, particularly on the rebounds and particularly inside the paint," Black said after the 93-85 triumph at the Mall of Asia Arena.
"And even though he didn't score a lot of points, he did a very good job of sharing the wealth and passing the basketball and getting his teammates involved against their defense," added Black.
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With a 3-1 record, Meralco is almost halfway to continuing the trend of making the playoffs in import-laden conferences, a streak that began during Onuaku's first tour of duty two years ago.
The lack of help in the middle was mainly cited in the Bolts' failure to reach the playoffs of the past three Philippine Cups. That is why Black feels that Onuaku is just what the doctor ordered.
"Some people might look at it that he's not productive but we look at it that he fills a big need for us," Black said.(JT)
