Meralco coach Normal Black. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Nowadays, Norman Black is best remembered as one of the best coaches in the Philippines, but back in the 1980s he was the PBA’s best foreign player.
And it was on this day in 1988 that Black tallied his 10,000th point.
Black, who was an absolute beast during his playing days in the PBA, achieved that milestone when he scored 42 points in San Miguel’s losing effort to Añejo.
Scoring 10,000 points in a PBA career is an impressive accolade but Black reminded everyone that he had more.
“I just want to be known for being productive, being a winner, and I’m very proud of scoring 10,000 points but I think I had more than 11,000” said Black with a laugh after his Meralco Bolts turned back NLEX 101-92 in the PBA Philippine Cup.
To be precise, Black scored 11,329 points in his career.
Black, whose nickname was Mr. 100%, didn’t just rack up personal accolades as he was also a two-time champion as a player and an 11-time title winner with three of those bundled as the 1989 Grand Slam.
After his legendary stay in the PBA, Black moved on to the collegiate circuit and coached Ateneo to five straight titles from 2008 to 2012.
With his playing days way behind him, Black said that other imports may very well match his point total.
“Someone may break that record, it could be Justin Brownlee or Allen Durham,” said Black, whose highest scoring average for a season was 51.8 points back in 1981.
Reaching Black’s total, however, could be difficult for Brownlee and Durham who have totals of 3,851 and 2,512 points, respectively.