AARON Black returned to the court on Wednesday for Meralco after undergoing surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee.
Black had 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in the Bolts’ 111-109 win over Phoenix, and he is glad to be back on the floor and performing well at the same time in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup opener.
“I think mentally, really coming back from an operation like that, I haven’t had an operation in a long time especially in your knee,” said the 27-year-old Black, whose last surgery was for an ACL tear when he was in high school.
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Black suffered the ACL tear last May during the 2024 Philippine Cup, but didn’t go under the knife after doctors advised only therapy. He, however, sat out Meralco’s run to a first-ever PBA championship in that conference.
The former Ateneo player returned in this season’s Governors’ Cup but only played in two games before suffering a meniscus tear last August. A meniscectomy procedure was done on his knee thereafter.
“I think it’s been three or four months so I’m glad I can get back on the basketball floor and help my team win,” said Black.
Black hasn’t had a lot of practice with the team before the game and Meralco was supposed to manage his minutes. But the coaching staff was forced to extend Black's minutes since the team was dealing with injuries to Allein Maliksi, Chris Banchero, and Brandon Bates.
“Aaron’s not supposed to be getting this many minutes," said Meralco coach Luigi Trillo, "[but] we have guys down. Nice to see him back.”
Black eventually logged 28 minutes and 56 seconds in his conference debut.
“The Lord blessed me to be able to play again. Siyempre, the physical side, our coach Diego and the rest of our team of PTs and everything have helped me and Doc (Raul) Canlas as well to come back. But at the same time, it’s the mental side. Babalik ka kasi from a long [layoff], hindi mo alam kung paano ka maglalaro,” said Black.
“I got to participate in only one practice game. Just thankful to be back and looking forward to what we can do as a team in this conference,” said Black.
"It's been a long way to get here."
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