Meralco is having one of the best runs of any team in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
After starting the season flatly at 1-6, the Bolts won four straight do-or-die matches in the preliminaries and scored two more wins in the quarterfinals against second seed Phoenix.
Just one loss in the playoffs would have sent Meralco packing but the two-time runner-up pushed through with a convincing 90-74 win in the opener and a 108-103 overtime squeaker to knock the Fuel Masters out and head to the semifinals.
And one man who showed true grit in the Bolts’ sixth straight win was point guard Baser Amer.
Playing inspired basketball, Amer put in 26 points, five rebounds, and four assists including a couple of clutch plays in their second straight win against the Fuel Masters.
“We were just really hungry that we started at 1-6 and our goal for the last four games of the eliminations was that just have to win,” said Amer in Filipino Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “We didn’t expect that we would be in the top eight but we started winning and we felt the confidence coming back.”
Amer, though, didn’t start the game strong against the Fuel Masters scoring just three points in the first half.
Come second half, though, Amer lit up and scored 11 points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth and overtime periods.
Amer also remembered a text from a certain Jimmy Alapag that seemingly helped him push through especially at the start of the extra frame wherein he drilled two straight soul-crushing threes that gave the Bolts an early 102-94 lead.
“Actually I was surprised that he texted me, so I want to thank him,” said Amer who became teammates with Alapag in 2016. “He wished me luck and told me to just be aggressive and who wouldn’t be motivated with that, it’s Jimmy Alapag.”
Alapag then messaged Amer anew after the Bolts’ second win over the Fuel Masters congratulating the younger guard of the win and the two clutch shots.
“Good game Baser! Big shots in the end, the extra shooting before and after practice is for this moment. Congrats and good luck in the semis,” Alapag’s message read.