SMART CLARK GIGA CITY – Rookie Aaron Black made sure his first-ever PBA playoffs appearance was a memorable one.
The Meralco guard came through for the Bolts in their Philippine Cup quarterfinal match-up against defending champion San Miguel, scoring 14 points and hitting a big three-pointer in the homestretch of a 78-71 win on Friday at the Angeles University Foundation gym.
Black also had three rebounds and went 3-of-8 from three-point range, all of which came in the second half as the Bolts survived a fourth-quarter surge by the Beermen.
The win was not only a major boost to the young career of Black, but also on the bid of the Bolts to make it deep into the playoffs.
“Of course it’s a confidence booster for us. These guys have won the last five champiosnhips here. They’re a tough team. Definitely we know they’re going to come up with everything they’ve got, so we have to be prepared for that,” said Meralco’s second-round pick in last year’s draft.
Meralco coach Norman Black lauded the young guard for coming up with a timely shot like the corner three-pointer he hit with 1:57 remaining that gave the Bolts a 76-67 lead.
“Hit timely shots when we really need them which was Aaron did tonight when he stepped up and made a couple of threes for us,” said the elder Black.
Despite the heroic, the Meralco coach admonished his son for taking a lot of shots in his first PBA playoffs game. The rookie finished 5-of-12 from the field.
“He made some, he missed some, but he made some crucial ones down the stretch when they (Beermen) were coming back and we really needed a lift,” said the champion mentor.
“He came off the bench. I think it was in the last five or six minutes of the game, and hit a couple of shots for us that really helped us separate and helped us win this basketball game.”
Black said Aaron definitely has a lot more room for improvement. But the good thing is the rookie is playing with a lot of confidence.
“He does have confidence, sometimes too much, actually,” he chuckled.
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