Veteran big man Norbert Torres was the lone offseason acquisition of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, and he’s slowly but surely proving to be a worthy pickup. On Friday’s PBA Philippine Cup action, in fact, the 35-year-old Fil-Canadian came off the bench and helped spark Ginebra’s 108-77 win over the Terrafirma Dyip as part of a bench unit that scored 61 big points.
Torres, in 19 minutes, put up 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists as he looked comfortable in Tim Cone’s famed Triangle Offense. But it turns out the transition has been anything but seamless, with the former La Salle Green Archer admitting afterward that he is still digesting tons of information pertaining to Ginebra’s infamously hard-to-master system.
“My time here with Ginebra and everything has just been almost like an overload of information,” Torres admitted in the postgame presser. “But I’ve been handling it really well. Coach and the coaching staff have been really patient with me.”
That “overload of information” is to be expected. After all, Cone’s read-and-react offense is one of the hardest to learn and master, and his defensive philosophies aren’t necessarily simplistic either.
Norbert Torres Is Just Giving His Maximum Best
While Norbert Torres’s time with Ginebra continues to be a learning experience, he has found the perfect formula for whenever he steps on the floor: just give your best. But he’s also highly appreciative of the trust being given to him, both by the coaches and his teammates.
“I’m happy for that, that they’re really trusting me and giving me the chance to grow and gel with the guys, gel with the system. You know, it’s really a treat at this stage of my career. You know, so I don’t take that for granted any time. So, I always try to give my best effort out there,” Torres noted.
Thus far, Norbert Torres is averaging 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds this conference. But as he showed against Terrafirma, he can definitely do more. And Ginebra will definitely need more if they’re to contend for a title.
