WHEN San Miguel wore its white retro jersey on Wednesday night during the PBA’s 50th anniversary gameday, there was actually one person at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum who wore that uniform back in the day.
His name is Norman Black, who, incidentally, is at the arena being the consultant of Meralco, a team that he also once coached.
The jersey that San Miguel wore was from the 1982 season of the PBA, which is actually the first year Black played with San Miguel. There is a video of Black wearing the red variant of the uniform on YouTube, a July 8, 1982 game against Crispa.
READ: SMB, Meralco brandish retro jerseys for PBA 50th anniversary game
Black’s San Miguel that was coached by Tommy Manotoc eventually won the Invitational Championship crown that year, defeating Crispa, 103-102.
Black revealed that he still has that red jersey.
“I still have the shorts and I have the red,” said Black. “The red jersey, I still have it up to now. I’m not going to get rid of it.”
“But I have a lot of pictures of me playing during that time,” said Black.
Black, who won a Grand Slam by coaching San Miguel in 1989, said he no longer has his white tops that the Beermen wore on Wednesday night.
“I gave the white away. I’m so sad that I did. A fan was asking me for it and I gave it away. I wish I had kept it,” said Black.
The 67-year-old Black admitted the retro night also evoked memories of his playing career especially with San Miguel, although he didn’t have time to look back because his focus was on Meralco’s game against San Miguel.
The Bolts lost, 110-98, in a rematch of last year’s Philippine Cup crown.
“It’s a special meaning for me because I actually played in those jerseys back in ’82 for Tommy Manotoc and we won the Invitational Championship that year,” Black said.
“It definitely brings back a lot of good memories. I scored a lot of points in those jerseys and grabbed a lot of rebounds. I’m on the other side now. I’m on the Meralco side,” said Black.
“They played really, really well tonight particularly June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez. So they may wear those jerseys again. They may not get rid of them, but they may continue to wear them,” he added.
Black said he is glad that the PBA was able to celebrate the 50th anniversary that served as a reminder that the past should not be forgotten.
“I think we should never forget the pioneers of the league. I’ve been watching a lot of the throwback games recently that’s been coming out on TV, watching a lot of Sonny Jaworski and Mon Fernandez and Atoy Co, and the other starts during that time. So we should never forget the players who paved the way for the guys today,” said Black.
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