![]() He then signed on to play for the Quezon City Capitals and Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as well as AMA Online Education in the PBA D-League. That was the biggest thing for me."īlack forwent his supposed last year of eligibility for Ateneo before doing skills training in the U.S. "Fortunately, the people around me, my family, my friends, stayed by my side. "Senior year, you don't play, that's a dark time," he narrated, candidly and pointedly, looking back at his 11 minutes per game in his fourth and, eventually final, year in blue and white. That didn't change much when he went up a level and became a Blue Eagle - even in his last two years when Tab Baldwin, a mentor well-known to get the most out of his players, was at the helm. Norman had done so time and again, after all, just like he did at the end of his son's time as a Blue Eagle.Īaron was far from a standout during his days in Ateneo High School. On draft day, down and down the son went, before his father picked him up, and put him back on his feet. PBA Media BureauĪnd so, Aaron's freefall came to a close when the Bolts - and their coach who knows him best - welcomed him with open arms. I was thankful a team, any team, took a chance on me." Aaron Black wasn't even expected to end up playing for father Norman but a hand injury saw him slip to the second round of his draft, where the Meralco Bolts pounced. Unfortunately, they didn't, and kinabahan na ako. "Rain or Shine had told my agent they were drafting me at (number) seven of the first round, so it wasn't even a thought for us. "My dad didn't tell me he was gonna draft me," recalled the younger Black, through chuckles. And lo and behold, with the 6th selection in the second round, the Bolts had an unexpected opportunity to say his name out loud. ![]() Come the rookie selection process two years ago, Meralco had no plans of drafting the next-generation Black - because they had thought he'd no longer be on the board when their first pick, which was already in the second round, rolled along.ĭue to a broken hand right before the combine, however, Aaron's draft stock dropped by a bit. He never had, even when the two of them were both in Ateneo de Manila University. 100%' wasn't supposed to coach the son who followed his footsteps in terms of basketball. The fact that his all-around game complemented Bolts top gun Chris Newsome's own versatility? Still, they said, because of his legend of a dad who won two championships and two Best Import awards in the PBA. The fact that Aaron put up per game counts of 6.6 points (38.9/34.7/69.2 shooting splits), 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals for a Bolts side with legitimate title aspirations right after getting drafted 18th overall? Apparently, that was all because of Norman. That noise was then turned to max volume when he was recognized as the 2020 PBA Rookie of the Year. While he's in a good place as of the moment, the younger Black said that early on in his pro career, he couldn't help but hear all the noise that he was only in the league because of his last name.
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