Oct 15, 2020

Black says Almazan may play more minutes when Meralco battles Ginebra

RAYMOND Almazan is a vital piece in Meralco's PBA Philippine Cup campaign.

With no Allen Durham to turn to, Almazan easily comes in handy for the Bolts, who sorely needs his presence in the middle.

Almazan made his bubble debut on Wednesday but hardly made his presence felt in Meralco's 93-81 victory over Alaska at the Smart 5G-powered Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.

Understandably, Almazan is still feeling his way around and working on his game after a meniscus injury he suffered in the Governors' Cup finals against Ginebra last year. He played only nine minutes and 37 seconds against the Aces and scored five points and grabbed five rebounds.

Meralco coach Norman Black said he is managing Almazan's minutes until he gets his game back.

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"(Last night) he was under a 10-minute restriction. I basically had him five minutes in the first half and five minutes in the second half," explained Black of his center's limited playing time.

"I was thinking about putting it all [minutes] in the second half but I wanted to give him a chance in the first half to get a feel for the game. I thought the game changed every time he entered the court. Because of his size, he allowed us to get into a zone," Black said.

After the game, Almazan told his coach he "felt normal, no pain."

Meralco goes up against Ginebra on Oct. 18 in a rematch of last year's Governors' Cup finals. That should be enough time for Almazan to work on his game and be ready for Sunday's showdown to give the Bolts a big boost.

"Our trainer will communicate with the team doctor to see if we can increase his minutes. He would've had three more practices before we play Ginebra, so I would imagine we would be able to put his minutes up a little bit," Black said. (PL)