Power Surge

The sitcom can wait for now,
welcome back El Granada!
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

After a mediocre first few years in the PBA after buying out the Santa Lucia Realty franchise, the Bolts are finally looking like a Manny V. Pangilinan-owned team thanks to their hot start in the PBA Commissioner's Cup. Head coach Norman Black has done quite a remarkable job in being able to find balance in what was once a predictable one-man show squad (first it was supposed "franchise" player Mac Cardona, then it was Gary David's turn, then they tried it again with Jarred Dillinger but that didn't pan out quite well).

This time, every one gets to touch the basketball despite or in spite of David's current "return to form" (pwera bati). The Bolts play defense first, mostly on hustle and hunger thanks to import Josh Davis who everyone thought was a bad fit at first (probably still is, because of redundancy in talent and the failure to address the team's need for a legit center, but you can't argue with results which is shown on the win column), the offense second. Their sets aren't that complicated when you look at it, just good old-fashioned textbook basketball plays run on a very high level which is a testament to Black's coaching genius.
Hell, even the "wild child" Cliff Hodge plays with a sense of purpose nowadays more than he did his first year in the PBA where he was just running on pure animal instincts.

Now as much as people have been crying about how David was left off the PBA All Star selection, we argue that at the guard spot, there's basically no place for him at the moment. He's been in quite a funk post-Gilas, hardly made his presence felt last conference, so why would anyone bring him into the PBA ASG conversation outside of his Gilas name?

Same with Dillinger and Sean Anthony. They're all stars in their own right, there's no question about that. But the Bolts were able to beat and help dethrone the Grand Slam-fresh Purefoods Star Hotshots last conference thanks to their superb team play and hustle built on the presence of interchangeable wings. Reynel Hugnatan though, he should be there in the ASG by all damn means as the Bolts' anchor on both offense (when things go shitty) and specially on defense.

This conference, we are seeing more of the same team play and hustle now anchored by Davis (who has basically the same tireless motor for the game as a Hodge or the Alaska Aces' Calvin Abueva) with the Bolts holding their opponents to no more than 81 points while they average around 89 per win. Also, the team is "only" averaging 11 turnovers a game considering the fact that point guard Mike Cortez is coming off an injury and they had to rely mostly on the likes of Simon Atkins, Jai Reyes and Anjo Caram to run their sets.

How far can the blue collar Bolts go this conference? Well, the David-Davis combo has racked up five straight wins so far, considering that Jarred Dillinger still hasn't contributed (injured). Once we see a Cortez-David-Dillinger-Anthony-Davis five on the floor, things should be very interesting and they can flat out guard just about anyone via the switch.

Now if only David can put his showbiz dreams aside long enough for the Bolts to go deeper in the Playoffs (or even PBA Finals)...

What do you think of the Bolts' strong start and "interchangeable parts?"