GABE Norwood is just 17 points away from joining the Philippine Basketball Association's elite 5,000 Points Club. At, the moment though, the Rain or Shine skipper has a more pressing issue in his mind.
"I'm more pressured to get us more wins," he told reporters with a chuckle shortly after the Elastopainters' breakthrough 115-110 victory over Blackwater at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City Saturday night.
For Norwood, a defensive specialist who helped the franchise to its two PBA titles, making sure the team stays on an even keel and remain in contention for a spot in the playoffs is the priority.
"You look at our five losses, we're better than our record. And we really believe that," he said. "We were a couple of possessions away from where we could be, you know what I mean? Our record could totally be mixed around."
"It just takes, hopefully, this win--that it gets followed up against NLEX and then we'll see if we can make a late push for the playoffs," he said.
Sponsored content: Rain or Shine's triumph against the equally struggling Blackwater side snapped the club's five-game losing streak and allowed the E-Painters to crash into the win column. And Norwood's assessment may not be that too far off as the team have been losing by just an average of 5.2 points before breaking through.
Norwood hopes that Saturday's victory turns into a seminal one--a springboard for the second half of the elimination round.
Fortunately, the Elastopainters have a surplus of young, promising pieces that could turn that vision into a reality.
"It's awesome to see the hard work they're putting in paying off," he said of Adrian Nocum and Andrei Caracut who came through late in the win that night, along with Kieth Datu and Gian Mamuyac who were big against Meralco and San Miguel Beer, respectively.??"All of [them] have played really well. [And] we still got Santi (Santillan) who's playing consistent minutes for us down the stretch. The young guys are really playing well and tonight, they were able to close it out for us."
The milestone, Norwood said, can wait.
Sponsored content: "It's getting there. I'm trying to get there. But it's no hurry, man. As long as we're getting wins at the end of the day, I'm just trying to make the most of my time on the court and really help our young guys develop," he said.
"They're lucky not to have to play in the bubble or things like that. To have as much of a normal season as possible, to really understand how the league works. And they, you know, are making the most out of it," he added. (DD)
