Norman Black returned to the Meralco sidelines in Game 2 of the semifinals against the Meralco Bolts.

Black stayed in the US for almost a month to attend to his ailing mother until her passing. Black, a multi-titled coach, is grateful for his coaching staff led by Luigi Trillo for steering the Bolts to the semifinals.

"I thanked Luigi Trillo and the coaches over and over again for holding the fort while I was gone," said Black after Meralco beat San Miguel, 99-88, to tie the series.

Black said it was difficult to see his mother pass away, but he was still happy with how the Bolts progressed while he was away.

The former two-time PBA Best Import was watching all of their games.

"I watched all of them. Three o clock in the morning, 5 o clock in the morning. I watched every game," Black said.

"The team, they stuck together, the players played together. The coaches worked together and try to come up with the game plans to be in this situation where we still have a chance to move forward.

"I'm very thankful to the entire team particularly the management because they allowed me to go home for probably a month," he ended.