Aaron Black returns and sparks Meralco’s come-from-behind victory over Phoenix

Cliff Hodge of Meralco (top) lands hard on Phoenix’s Jason Perkins. — PBA IMAGES

Aaron Black took pride in once again returning to the hard court and playing a significant role in Meralco’s big comeback win over Phoenix to begin its PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign on Friday night.

“Of course, I’ve been getting plenty of help in terms of the physical side,” Black said after the Bolts prevailed, 111-109, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium despite a listless first half and a 23-point deficit.

“But at the same time, the mental part of it was figuring out how you can come back,” he added.

Black finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes for Meralco, a performance that came after being dealt with two injuries in the last two conferences, spanning seven months.

It was last April when Black went down with an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury that forced him to miss the latter part of Meralco’s incredible run to the PBA Philippine Cup, the franchise’s first championship.

Under the knife

While Black didn’t require surgery and returned to play two games in this season’s Governors’ Cup, he was eventually put under the knife when he sustained a meniscus problem on his right knee.

“I’m just thankful to be back, and I’m looking forward to what I can do for the team this conference,” Black said.

Having Black healthy is certainly a welcome development for a Meralco team that opened the second conference missing a number of players, including Allein Maliksi, Chris Banchero, Brandon Bates and rookie CJ Cansino.

That led to coach Luigi Trillo and active consultant Nenad Vucinic going into their bench and forcing Black and Bong Quinto, playing through a hurting right knee, to log heavy minutes.

Chris Newsome, days removed from helping Gilas Pilipinas secure wins against New Zealand and Hong Kong in the Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers on home soil, also contributed in the rally and posted 23 points with six assists.

“We were ashamed of ourselves,” Black said as Meralco allowed Phoenix, which eventually dropped to 0-2 (win-loss), to score 73 points and lead by 19 at the break.

Eastern scores

The Bolts slowly chipped away at the lead, holding the Fuel Masters to just 10 in the third before getting the lead with two minutes left in the contest on Quinto’s three for 106-105.

But it took Meralco import Akil Mitchell, who had 27 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and six steals, knocking down the winning shot with 1.3 seconds—a push shot after faking an attempt—before the Bolts finally sealed the victory.

In the second game, guest team Eastern rode on Cameron Clark’s 39 points and 15 rebounds on the way to a 117-106 win over Converge. The Hong Kong squad notched their second straight victory in the tournament. INQ