Norman weaves old ‘Black Magic’ for most-loved gold
If there’s anyone who saw coach Norman Black’s hardships in creating the Gilas Pilipinas lineup for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, it was Chris Newsome.
Black wore three hats for several months, juggling duties as consultant for San Beda in the NCAA and Meralco in the PBA before coaching Gilas in Thailand. From the outside looking in for the many-time National team mainstay, Newsome knows just how stressful the past few weeks were for Black.
“You definitely have to give credit to coach Norman Black and the coaching staff for what they were able to do in a short time,” Newsome told the Inquirer on Friday night after the Bolts’ 113-104 loss to San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“Even coach Tim (Cone) knows how hard it is to build lineups in such a short period of time, so you have to give them credit,” Newsome went on. “They put in the system and the x’s and o’s.”
To add to Black’s already-busy work schedule, his creation of the Gilas squad was met with numerous roadblocks.
With the SEA Games not being recognized by Fiba, there was no window for the Asian leagues like the PBA. Passport issues also barred guys like Remy Martin and Justin Brownlee from donning the Gilas jersey.
As if those weren’t enough, the collegiate leagues kept going as the preparations for the SEAG ramped up.
The odds were stacked against Black and his quest to notch gold, but Newsome never doubted him. Not one bit.
“Coach Norman knows his basketball. He’s been around the game for a long time,” Newsome said. “He’s a guy that drafted me and taught me a lot about the PBA. He definitely knows what he’s looking for in players and how to utilize them.”
Talents maximized
Black surely maximized the players he got and it resulted in a gold-medal finish for the Philippines following a hard-earned 70-64 win over Thailand in the finals on Friday.
Jamie Malonzo, a PBA free agent, was snagged by Black late and the former Barangay Ginebra star delivered big in the gold medal win with a monster effort of 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Matthew Wright, also a free agent, and Robert Bolick, who had to let go of his NLEx duties in the PBA, also contributed big with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
“I’m also proud of the players who dedicated time away from their families,” Newsome, no stranger to being away from his loved ones to play, said. “Even players who have teams here in the PBA, they let go of those just to represent this country, so I have nothing but respect for them.”
