ANTIPOLO - It was another heartbreaker of a loss for Meralco, but Norman Black would rather take the positives out of the Bolts' 87-83 setback at the hands of NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA Philippine Cup Saturday night.
Despite going down with their third loss in five outings, the team spirit inside the dugout at the Ynares Center remains fine as Black looks forward of getting back on the winning track two weeks from now against Columbian Dyip.
Black said the Bolts just couldn't cry over spilled milk following the tough loss against the Road Warriors in a Petron Saturday Special game that was decided by a huge John Paul Erram block on Ranidel de Ocampo in the final 10 seconds and the thrilling outcome hanging in the balance.
"This is all about trying to win games. You can't get down when you lost a game, otherwise you continue losing," said the Meralco coach. "You have to try to find a way to win, bounce back in the win column in the next game.
"Nobody hangs their head and stop trying to win a basketball."
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Now tied for fifth to ninth place with four other teams, Meralco remains very much in the thick of the fight for a playoffs berth as history would espouse it.
"There are a lot of situations wherein teams didn't start off well in the All-Filipino but they went on a run and finish well," Black pointed out. "That's what we have to try to do, keep on working and keep staying positive.
"It's still a long way to go. We still have six games left," added the Meralco coach. "We already lost two games we should have won."
The Bolts also lost a close one against NorthPort, 93-92, and then this one against the Road Warriors.
But as Black said, Meralco had its chances.
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"We didn't make our shots, they made theirs (Road Warriors)," he stressed. "They came up with the big defensive stop in the end, and that was what really finished the game."
Meralco was only trailing 85-83 when Erram swatted away De Ocampo's shot underneath.
"The last play on Ranidel, I thought he was open for a moment. But he took too long to shoot the ball and Erram blocked it. So that's it," said Black.
"Tough game, tough loss." (RG)
