SMART CLARK GIGA CITY — Aaron Black played his first-ever PBA playoff game on Friday, but the rookie showed no jitters — even when up against the reigning, five-time all-Filipino kings.
The second-generation cager produced 14 points, on top of three rebounds and a steal. His performance helped Meralco stave off San Miguel, 78-71, erasing the latter’s twice-to-beat edge in the 2020 Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Black scored 11 of his points in the fourth, including the big triple that widened the Bolts’ lead to nine, 76-67, with 1:57 left to play that shut the door on the Beermen. He hit all three of his treys in the same period.
And his timely threes boosted a team that couldn’t shoot well from deep. As the final stats rolled out, the Bolts had shot only 8-of-35 from beyond the arc
“We couldn’t shoot the ball from the perimeter. San Miguel decided to play zone almost the entire second half, which is what teams have been doing lately because we have not really been shooting the ball that well from the three-point line,” said head coach Norman Black, who nonetheless felt pleased they’d gotten one over the Beermen.
“Like I’ve always said, Aaron has a lot of improvement ahead of him. He really has to work on his game, but he does have confidence. Sometimes too much, but he does have confidence to shoot the basketball.”
Before the quarterfinals, Black was averaging 7.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.
On the other hand, the younger Black simply feels proud of how he and the Orangemen held their own versus SMB.
“First of all, credit to the coaching staff. They’ve prepared us so well for this. We came in with a game plan, and we were able to execute it,” he said.
“Of course, it’s a confidence-booster for us.”
Black was adjudged the Best Player of the Game. According to league stats chief Fidel Magonon III, he is the first rookie to receive the honor right in his first PBA playoff game since Kiefer Ravena on Mar. 5, 2018. Then, NLEX defeated Alaska in the opening salvo of their 2018 Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal series.
However, the Ateneo de Manila product insisted the work isn’t over. They still have the winner-take-all match on Sunday, Nov. 15, where he and the Bolts look to complete the monumental upset.
“They gave us a scare there in the fourth quarter. We have to look at that and review it for the next game,” he said, as San Miguel was able to chop the lead down to four, 67-71, with 4:50 left to play after going down by as much as 16.
“You know these guys, they’ve won the last five championships here so they’re a tough team. Definitely, we know they’re gonna come out on Sunday with everything they got, so we have to be prepared for that.”
