Game Three of the 2017 Governors’ Cup Finals did not go the way of Baser Amer despite the Meralco Bolts coming out as winners. He put up six shots from the floor, but failed to convert any, and laid a big fat egg as the final buzzer sounded.
Come Game Four on Friday night, though, the sophomore point guard did not allow himself another scoreless outing. He bounced back from that sorry match, but this time, with his redemption came a huge Finals moment.
The all-time San Beda great nailed a booming triple from the right corner, which propelled the Bolts to an 83-81 lead with 1:16 left to play. That shot proved to be crucial, as it helped Meralco to an 85-83 triumph.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34OgwrS_Qrk
“Baser… Hey I told him, ‘just keep playing, keep playing, keep shooting, it’s gonna come.’ And he made the biggest play of the game, he made that three. I’m proud of him,” lauded Meralco import Allen Durham of Amer’s huge shot.
“That was a big shot by Baser from the corner, actually you can say that was the game-winner,” added coach Norman Black.
It is definitely the biggest shot yet of Amer’s career, but for the Davao native, who finished with 11 points, his confidence to pull the trigger when needed came from the advice of his coaches and the support of his mates.
“Actually yung pagpasok ko, sinabihan na ako nina coach Jimmy [Alapag] and coach Ronnie [Magsanoc] na ‘pag libre ako, itira ko siya. Yun nga sa game kanina, nangyari talaga,” shared the soft-spoken 25-year-old.
“Nandiyan naman sina coach and mga teammates ko na kahit nag-struggle ako last game, last three games namin, nandyan sila,” added the Most Improved Player candidate.
“Lagi silang nagmo-motivate sa akin na ibalik yung laro ko.”
Indeed, Amer has finally regained his confidence, which will be a huge factor as the Bolts aim to break the 2-2 series tie on Game Five this Sunday.
