Determined to repay coach’s trust, Baser Amer shoots out of slump to carry Bolts in clutch

MANILA, Philippines—Baser Amer wasn’t about to let his poor shooting bring his confidence down.

Amer was on a humble clip in Meralco’s first seven games in the PBA Philippine Cup converting on a 39 percent rate or 30-of-77 from the floor.

But when the Bolts needed a spark in the second overtime of their game against NorthPort, Amer knew he had to rise to the occasion and deliver the big shots.

Meralco held a small 115-113 lead after Ranidel De Ocampo’s bucket at the 4:27 mark of the second extension when Amer drilled two consecutive three-pointers that gave the Bolts a 121-113 buffer with 2:11 remaining.

That surge from Amer allowed the Bolts to build a sizeable lead that they held on to until the final buzzer for the 126-123 win.

Amer said that even though he had a poor shooting, by his standards, he knew he had to repay the trust Meralco head coach Norman Black gave him.

“I just want to thank coach Norman because he’s always given me the trust that even though I shot badly he’s still confident that I can lift up the team,” said Amer in Filipino Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I think I just read the defense and as a point guard you should know how to go through it,” added Amer who had 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting.

The win also snapped Meralco’s three-game losing streak to get to a 3-5 record for and stay in the hunt for a playoff spot with three games remaining in its schedule.

Amer, the Bolts’ captain, said that he told his teammates before the game that they shouldn’t think too much of their standings and instead focus on just winning.

“I told them before the start of the game that we should not think of the standings, or even our opponent,” said Amer. “We should concentrate on winning a game at a time for the rest of our schedule.”