Aaron Black played so well on Friday night that even Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone sang praises for the sophomore guard.
The 25-year-old churned out a career-high 24 points, 15 of which he produced in the third quarter alone as he led the furious rally of Meralco after trailing by as much as 20 in Game Two of the 2022 Governors’ Cup Finals.
Unfortunately, his efforts went for naught. Justin Brownlee and the Gin Kings just proved to be too much and left with the 99-93 win to tie the series.
Still, it didn’t stop the league’s only 23-time champion mentor from tipping his hat to Black, whom he said is ‘playing at an All-Star level.’
“Well, that’s getting to be a normal thing, right? He did it against Magnolia. He tore us apart in Game One, and now he brought it back in Game Two,” Cone said, as the Ateneo Blue Eagle had 12 points in Game One.
“It’s getting to be a normal thing. I mean, he’s playing at an All-Star level. And I’m sure Norman is really kilig about it. I mean, wouldn’t you be if it was your son doing that? I’m a little bit envious watching his son playing over there for him,” he quipped.
“I don’t think anybody can question him at this level, man,” he furthered.
“As I said, he’s playing at an All-Star level right now.”
Meralco head coach Norman Black, on the other hand, begged to differ from his counterpart’s ‘All-Star’ take.
But he didn’t hide how proud he was of his son, who also had six rebounds, three assists, and a steal in nearly 32 minutes as a starter.
“I’m not gonna go that far,” said the 64-year-old with a grin.
“But, certainly, he played really, really well today. I’m probably his number one believer. So, I’m really proud of him, and happy for him.”
Though it would have been so much better had that good of a performance ended up with a victory, said the decorated bench tactician.
“I’m happy he played well, but a little bit sad also because we lost. Hopefully, he can do the same thing next game, and we can win the game.”
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