SMART CLARK GIGA CITY – Aaron Black played his first-ever PBA playoff game Friday but there was definitely no jitters whatsoever for the rookie — even if he was up against the reigning, five-time all-Filipino kings.
The second-generation cager produced 14 points, on top of three rebounds and a steal to help Meralco stave off San Miguel, 78-71, to erase 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 practically shut the door close for the Beermen. He hit all three of his treys in the said period.
His timely threes was definitely a huge help for a team who wasn’t really shooting that well from deep in the game — the Bolts, as the final stats rolled out, only shot 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 was nonetheless pleased as they have 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.”
Meanwhile, the younger Black — who was averaging 7.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists prior to the quarters — was simply 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 gameplan, 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, becoming the first rookie to be bestowed with the honor right in his first PBA playoff game since Kiefer Ravena on Mar. 5, 2018, when NLEX defeated Alaska in the opening salvo of their 2018 Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal series, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
However, the Ateneo de Manila product insisted that the job isn’t finished yet, for there is still 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.”
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