Baser Amer was aware that he wasn’t shooting the way he should be in his first games in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup.
In his Meralco Bolts’ first seven games in the tilt, the fourth-year guard out of San Beda was shooting a lowly 29.7 percent from beyond the arc – or only 11 of the 37 shots he’d take.
So he took it upon himself to work on that particular facet during the break, and it paid off nicely on Friday.
Amer shot 5-of-11 three-pointers and finished with 23 points to help the Orangemen reign victorious over the NorthPort Batang Pier in two grueling overtime periods, 126-123.
“Yung percentage ng shooting ko, napakababa.
“Yung hard work ko sa practice, nagpu-punta ako ng maaga and stay ng late para lang mabalik yung kumpiyansa ko,” said Amer.
Amer made two of his treys in the final OT period, which proved pivotal since it put his team up, 121-113, with 2:13 left to play. Given that, Amer is thankful that he’s still trusted to take such shots.
“Gusto ko lang mag-thank you kay coach Norman [Black] kasi binibigyan niya ako ng tiwala na kahit yung shooting ko masama, yung tiwala niya na nandoon ako sa loob para ma-lift ko yung team.”
The win snapped the Bolts’ three-game skid and improves their card to 3-5, thus keeping their playoff hopes alive. But Amer isn’t looking at the bigger picture – for now.
“Sabi ko sa kanila kanina bago mag-simula yung game, ‘wag na namin isipin yung standings, ‘wag na namin tignan yung mga kalaban namin. Kailangan lang namin panalo and one at a time lang.”
