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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Norman Black lauds 'big additions' Almazan, Maliksi

Norman Black lauds 'big additions' Almazan, Maliksi

Published Nov 20, 2020 07:57 pm
Raymond Almazan of Meralco soars for a putback. (PBA Images)

SMART CLARK GIGA CITY--Coach Norman Black has always been saying that Raymond Almazan and Allein Maliksi are difference-makers for Meralco in the PBA Philippine Cup, especially in another playoff duel versus Barangay Ginebra.

Almazan and Maliksi proved that anew as they helped the Bolts bounce back big against the Kings, 95-77, in Game 2 of their best-of-five semifinal tiff on Friday night at the AUF Arena.

After getting limited to three points and three rebounds in a 96-79 beating in Game 1, the lanky big man Almazan pumped in an 11-marker, 11-board  double-double.

On the other hand, wingman Maliksi, who was coming off a 24-point explosion in the series opener, sustained his hot shooting to finish with 14 markers built on four triples.

Allein Maliksi of Meralco takes a jumper over his Barangay Ginebra defenders. (PBA Images)

"Those two guys as what I've been saying all along are big additions to our team, a big part of our team. We need Allein to score and we need Raymond's presence in the middle for us to be successful," said Black.

The grand slam-winning mentor was particularly happy seeing Almazan getting back to his peak form after suffering a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee midway through the finals of the 2019 Governor's Cup that saw the Kings prevail over the Bolts for a third time.

Black even bared that the 31-year-old center only started his rehabilitation just a few weeks heading into the bubble due to the coronavirus crisis.

"People don't realize that during the pandemic he did not really have a chance to rehabilitate 'cause there was no place to rehabilitate. Everything was closed out," said the 63-year-old tactician.

"It's only now that he's starting to get himself into decent shape," he added. "Raymond Almazan probably played his best game this conference."

Black also emphasized the value of Maliksi on the offensive end, with the 33-year-old gunner firing 10.45 points per game to join Chris Newsome and Reynel Hugnatan at the forefront of the Bolts' attack.

"Allein is a big part of our offense. In the games that we won throughout the course of this conference, he was a big part of that. And if he scores well, we're gonna do well."  

Related Tags

Meralco Bolts Norman Black PBA bubble Allein Maliksi raymond almazan PBA Philippine Cup Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
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