Five Things from the Bolts' Blowout Loss

Nobody at the Meralco Bolts camp is happy about the 41-point beating they received in their last match against the Alaska Aces. Once the second half started, it was obvious that the team will be able to do anything to stem the onslaught.

Coach Norman Black was clearly out-matched by his younger counterpart, Alex Compton, despite having the former Aces coach as his deputy, Luigi Trillo.

"Alaska looks like a very well-conditioned team. They press a lot, we couldn’t break the press. They scored a lot coming off a press. Defensively, we were a little bit relaxed today," Black said after the match to a select group of reporters.

Here are the five takeaways from the 105-64 beating last 31 October 2014.

1. Cliff Hodge was do solid for 34 minutes of action and got away with a double-double performance, 16 points and 11 rebounds. However, with nobody else in the team trying to match his effort, this will go down as one of the disappointing losses for a 5-year old team.
2. Alaska forward Vic Manuel, a former Bolts, scored 17 points as he systemically pick apart the apparent hole in Meralco’s frontline. He made 8 of his 9 shots and drilled mid-range jumper after mid-range jumper. This could probably be his best game as a pro.
3. Veterans Reynel Hugnatan and Gary David are showing some deep signs of depreciation by shooting only 4 of their 16 attempts and combing for 4 turnovers. Hugnatan also shot 1 out of 11 in their previous match against the Blackwater Elite, including a potential game-winner in regulation.
4. A team, like the Bolts, who boast of shooters from the rainbow area cannot survive a match by shooting only 2 of their total 20 attempts. With David and John Wilson, it is hard to imagine the Bolts finish the game on a 10.0 percent clip from the 3-point area.
5. It is hard to imagine how coach Black failed to recognize early in the first half that their zone defense and half-court offense is not working against the Aces. When a team turns the ball over 18 times in a match is not that hard to see and correct.