PBA: Norman Black unhappy with sixth place finish for Meralco; no import yet for Bolts

As a multi-titled coach in the PBA, Norman Black made it clear that he would not stand for mediocrity in his team as Meralco ended their conference with an 87-69 defeat at the hands of Alaska on Sunday.

"I'm used to a lot of success so I can't be happy with sixth place," the Bolts coach told reporters after their quarterfinals loss. "It's not good enough for me."

Meralco clinched a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals after a 6-5 card in the elimination round, and pulled off a huge upset against Grand Slam champions Purefoods in the playoffs.

The victory poised them for a knockout clash with the Aces, who tormented them with a haunting 41-point spread last Halloween. The elation over beating the Hotshots, however, was short-lived as they couldn't overcome Alaska's pressure defense once again and failed to punch a ticket to the semifinals.

"We had a hard time at the pressure again. We couldn't get the ball up the court," Black said. "Obviously my team is not really made to handle pressure very well because my guards are more scorers than ball handlers."

The Aces limited the Bolts to 25 points in the first half and protected their lead throughout the game.

"We need to improve if we wanna win a championship. If we just wanna be mediocre, then it'll be fine," Black said. "But I don't wanna be mediocre, I wanna have a championship team."

With the conclusion of their conference, Meralco will take a few weeks off before starting their preparations for the Commissioner's Cup next year.

"Next step is to try to recruit a very good import to support my players and do better in the second and third conference," the coach said.

No targets are in place yet for the Bolts' reinforcement, as the team had focused their sights on a semifinals appearance for the Philippine Cup. - RAF, GMA News