On Friday, Baser Amer had his finest game to date in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup, much to the delight of the Meralco Bolts.
After averaging just 11.0 points in the Bolts’ first two games, the fourth-year guard out of San Beda shot six three-pointers en route to 27 points to steer his side to a 101-75 win over the Alaska Aces.
Four of his triples came in the third canto alone, when he led the Bolts’ rally that flipped a narrow four-point lead to a wide 62-46 edge. That then kicked off the romp that saw them lead by as many as 30 points.
“With Baser really breaking loose today and hitting a lot of outside shots for us from the three-point range, that really opened up the game for us,” lauded Meralco head coach Norman Black.
Meanwhile, Amer — who also collected five rebounds and four assists — simply said, “Swerte lang.
“Good start lang ako nung first half so nakuha ko kumpiyansa ko. Tsaka libre lang din eh.”
While he played a large role in the victory that avenged last week’s loss to NLEX, Amer did not take the spotlight to himself. Instead, he tipped his hat to the other Orangemen for the win.
Amer noted the impact of Raymond Almazan for Meralco, which was strongly felt in the win over Alask. The 6-foot-8 slotman produced 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
“Sobrang laking factor na dagdag si Raymond sa’min.
“He can score, depensa. Tsaka yung rebound, yun wala sa’min talaga. Since dumating siya, ang laking bagay, ang laking tulong sa’min,” he said.
The Bolts have improved to 2-1 following the dominant victory. For Amer, he hopes that he and the Bolts can sustain their momentum, as their primary goal is to make it back to the playoffs.
Meralco never made it past the elimination round in this season’s first two conferences.
“Kailangan i-grab namin ang opportunity na ‘to kasi the last two conferences, ang sama ng performance namin,” said the 27-year-old pride of Davao City.
“Sana this conference maipakita namin na deserving din kami sa playoffs. Hindi madali pero dapat pagtrabahuhan, at tulungan kami.”
