What rookie jitters?

Aaron Black did not shy away from the spotlight in his first PBA playoff game as he came up big in a 78-71 win Meralco pulled off against San Miguel to stay alive in the Philippine Cup quarterfinals.

The No. 18 overall pick unloaded 11 of his 14 points in the final quarter, none bigger than his three-pointer with two minutes remaining that kept San Miguel at bay.

Off a kick out pass from Chris Newsome, Black buried his third triple of the period from the left corner for a 76-67 lead as Meralco forced a rubber match against the twice-to-beat San Miguel.

“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,” Meralco head coach Norman Black said about his son.

“Sometimes too much, but he does have confidence to shoot the basketball,” the older Black said in jest.

The younger Black said the win is a major morale boost, especially since Meralco proved San Miguel, the winner of the last 5 All-Filipino crowns, is still vulnerable.

If anything, now is the best time for teams to dethrone San Miguel, which is missing reigning six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and star Terrence Romeo.

“It is a confidence booster for us,” Black said. “I think they won the last 5 championships so they’re a tough team.”

The former Ateneo Blue Eagle, though, knows the job is far from over, knowing San Miguel has the championship pedigree to bounce back.

“We just said this is only halftime. We won one game, we have not done anything yet, we have to get the next one.” – Rappler.com