Losing to the eventual Season 77 champions National University Bulldogs, the Ateneo de Manila University is geared up to be one of the contenders this upcoming UAAP season. And while the team will be parading seven newcomers in their roster, one striking name is listed in Aaron Black as he is the son of one of the most iconic faces in Ateneo basketball, Norman Black.
The team has veterans in Kiefer Ravena, Fonso Gotladera, Von Pessumal and Gwyne Capacio, who are expected to lead the charge in Ateneo’s drive for another run in the men’s basketball title. Black emphasizes that he would like to help the seniors in their Season 78 grind and give the veterans a championship before they part ways in their respective UAAP campaigns.
“The veterans are very vocal in practice. I just want to help the seniors win the championship so they could leave college with a ring on their finger,” he says.
In terms of how his dad has helped him in his game, he mentioned, “My dad helps me in every aspect of the game. He talks about the things I can do to improve. We call it ‘tune ups’ if I want to work on something I just tell him and we go to the court.”
Being the son of Norman, who coached the Blue Eagles to a historic five-peat run, and is now currently calling the shots for the Meralco Bolts, Aaron has received a lot of attention in terms of dealing with the pressure. Pressure that he as fuel to improve himself in and out of the court.
“Well that ‘pressure’ has been with me all my life. At this point, it’s not much of a pressure anymore. It’s now something I use to do well for me and it’s a positive thing now,” he shared.
After showing what he can do in the basketball court in his juniors stint in the Blue Eaglets, Black has played the 2 and 3 position but is working on improving his ball handling as of now.
“I hope I can provide energy off the bench. Aside from that, probably (I can give) scoring and rebounding. I worked a lot on my defense as well so I hope I can provide that energy and spark,” he added.
Looking forward, he was straight on in terms of setting goals for the Blue Eagles. Last year was a heart-breaker as they were a win away from barging into Season 77 finale.
“We all want to win a championship right now. Last year, our team fell short and I hope that this year we can give a better effort. Our team is hungry and I think we can make it all the way.”
He also pointed out that he is much more than a shooter and is excited to show what he can really do on the court. “I guess a lot of people see me more of just a shooter and I like to prove them that I’m not just that. Von(Pessumal) said something about himself also and that label is something I don’t wanna be called because it’s not really me,” shared Black
The Blue Eagles will be opening this year’s campaign up against the FEU Tamaraws on Sunday and Black is one of the usual rookies who are looking forward to their UAAP debuts.
“Nervous, of course, but feeling excited. I wanna help the seniors. They’re very vocal in practice. Not really that they get mad, but it’s more like they help you on anything that happens on the court. So they just help us when we make mistakes.”
In addition, he is also eyeing his first Ateneo-La Salle match in the seniors division which is usually a circled-date in terms of the fans of the league due to the school’s rivalry.
“I’ve actually been asking all the seniors about the feeling of it and I’m very excited about it,” he ended.
