#baser amer

“Akala ko nung una mahirap kasi nakakahiya. Pero once na sinabihan mo sila in a good way, mas madali lang pala. High school at college nagagawa ko naman, nahinto lang nung baguhan ako kasi nga nahihiya pero comfortable na ako.” – Spin.ph

PBA Media Bureau Meralco point guard Baser Amer has been playing superb for the Bolts in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup, and he certainly is one of the biggest reasons behind the team’s 4-0 start. So it’s no surprise that the sophomore guard, who scored 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists on Wednesday night over Rain or Shine, got lots of praises from his coaches. “Baser is only in his second year, his fifth conference, but he had shown that he could be a good player in this league. I think he has the confidence right now. I have the confidence in him. Now, he has to take advantage of this opportunity. If he can continue to do that he should be well,” Meralco coach Norman Black said in an interview with InterAksyon.com. Black added that Amer, currently averaging 16.3 points, 4.5 boards and 3.8 assists, has the potential to take over the lead point guard role once held by Jimmy Alapag, who is now part of Meralco’s coaching staff. “There was a transition period last conference with Jimmy leaving and him becoming the lead point guard. Obviously, he’s a young kid and it takes some time for him to get some experience to be able to take control of the team,” Black added. For his part, Alapag said he would be happy to see Amer develop as one of the league’s best guards. “I was fortunate to have a year with him where we were working together, day in and day out. I’ve known him since he was in college when he was playing for coach Mike (Jarin) in San Beda. I was working with him when he was with Coach Tab (Baldwin) with the cadets. Just to see his progress, his growth in such a short time,” Alapag said. “Now that I’m not playing, I could turn off the competition mode and become a fan again, at the same time coaching guys like him just to see how well he’s playing. “Honestly, I hope he could surpass what I was fortunate enough to do in my career. At the end of the day, that’s the nature of the game. You try your best when you’re competing and you’re training to be the best that you can be. “Whatever you achieved, you look back and say, ‘hey, I did pretty well’. I hope that Baser could look back on his career. Be it on the second year or maybe 10, 12 years down the line. When he’s done playing, maybe 15 years, he could look back and say ‘Hey, I have a pretty successful career, too’ and he’s on his way. “I know it’s too early in this conference, but he’s been very, very good for us this conference so far.” Amer, a many-time champion in the NCAA and PBA D-League, is up for the challenge. “Sinabihan kasi ako ni coach na kahit baguhan ako sa team kailangan matuto akong pagsabihan sila,” Amer said. “Dapat hindi ako matakot sa kanila, kahit beterano sila or mas matagal sila sa league. Sina Coach Norman, Coach Jimmy and Coach Ronnie (Magsanoc), tutok sila sa amin ni Anjo (Caram). “Akala ko nung una mahirap, nakakahiya. Once na sinabihan mo sila in a good way, madali lang pala at mas madaling maglaro ng basketball kapag naging leader ka sa loob. High school, college, nagawa ko naman. Nahinto lang nung baguhan ako, kasi nga may hiya, ngayon comfortable na ako. Sana tuluy-tuloy na.” http://j.mp/2nxGqfP

PBA Media Bureau Mahindra veteran Mark Yee was fined P25,000 for committing a landing spot flagrant foul against Meralco guard Baser Amer that had “dire consequence”. During the third quarter of Mahindra’s 105-92 win over Meralco last Wednesday, Yee was slapped with a flagrant two after Amer landed on his foot during a fastbreak. Amer winced in pain after the sequence. Yee was ejected from the game. Yee has earlier said the contact was accidental and he didn’t mean to hurt Amer. Yee’s penalty was the biggest the PBA handed out in its latest list of fined players. Meralco’s Justin Chua was meted a fine of P7,500 for a landing spot flagrant. NLEX’s Kevin Alas got a P5,000 fine for “tripping with contact” while Alaska’s Vic Manuel received the same penalty for a flagrant one. Manuel was fined another P1,000 for second motion. Meralco’s Cliff Hodge got a P3,000 fine for flopping, and another P1,000 for second motion. Meralco’s Kelly Nabong and Rain or Shine’s Jay Washington were also fined P1,000 each for second motion. A P1,000 fine was also slapped on Mahindra’s Alex Mallari “for not reporting to the officials table”. San Miguel’s Gabby Espinas was fined P1,600 for engaging in a verbal altercation with Rain or Shine’s Don Trollano who was meted a P1,000 fine. The league penalized Star’s Paul Lee with a P1,000 fine for “pointing an accusing finger towards a game official”. Lee’s teammate Jio Jalalon got a similar fine for “pulling down his playing shorts while in the free throw line”. Star’s Marc Pingris received a P1,600 penalty for “disrespectfully addressing an official”. Coaches weren’t spared from PBA’s sanctions. Ginebra coach Tim Cone was slapped with a P5,000 fine for entering the court during a scuffle between his player Kevin Ferrer and Hodge during their out-of-town game in Iloilo last Saturday. Alaska coach Alex Compton was fined P5,000 “for applauding the referee in a sarcastic manner” and another P1,000 for “disrespectfully addressing an official”. http://j.mp/2jWKcRg

Buzzer Beating Baser Amer | Commissioner's Cup 2016

Meralco’s Gary David (left) being defended by Ginebra’s LA Tenorio. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO Both Ginebra and Meralco are coming off losses this past week and are currently mired at the bottom of the team standings. Without a doubt, both teams will be aiming for victories on Tuesday to stay within striking distance of those in the top half of the table and avoid remaining in the cellar. Ginebra couldn’t match SMB’s firepower in their last game, especially since hardly anyone outside of Greg & Japeth played well enough to carry the Kings in that game. Coach Tim Cone also remarked that he doesn’t really see the trademark NSD spirit of Ginebra yet, and the Kings will need to rediscover that part of their identity or they risk getting eliminated early in this tournament. Meralco had high hopes entering the season with a crop of highly-touted rookies and the return of Rabeh Al-Hussaini, but the Bolts haven’t really been able to deliver on their potential. Can coach Norman finally bring out the best in this crew after such a near-win against Barako Bull? * GINEBRA: DROUGHT FROM LONG DISTANCE The Gin Kings have been awful from three-point land of late, shooting a league-worst 20% from rainbow country and not making a three pointer since the second quarter of their game against Alaska in Dubai, which, strangely enough, they won. With their frontline combo of Greg & Japeth clicking, the Kings need their perimeter game to kick into high gear if they are to really move up. -Ginebra has missed its last 23 3pt attempts dating back to 2Q of game in Dubai vs Alaska – Ginebra worst in scoring (83.0ppg) and 3pt shooting (20% – 14/70) – Missing shooters: Tenorio – 19% Caguioa – 12.5% Ellis – 12.5% Mercado – 25.0% Devance – 25.0% * TWO-HEADED MONSTER: GREGZILLA + JUMPING JAPETH The duo of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar has been playing quite well this season, and they need to continue to do that if Ginebra is to be a threat in any game. Both players have been double-double beasts under coach Tim Cone, and with Ginebra’s wingmen and backcourt sputtering, there won’t be any off days soon for Greg & Japeth. Greg last game: 21pts, 11rebs, 3asts, 2blks, 1stl, 9/19 FGs Japeth last game: 21pts, 9rebs, 3blks, 1ast, 7/12 FGs Greg stats: 25.8ppg, 17.5rpg, 3.8apg, 1.3bpg, 59.1 FG% Japeth stats: 19.0ppg, 10.3rpg, 1.3apg, 1.0bpg, 53.4 FG% * GINEBRA: HELP WANTED Despite the greatness of Greg & Japeth, Ginebra has lost 3 of its last 4 games mainly because their twin towers haven’t been able to get the help they need. Against SMB, only Chris Ellis scored in double digits outside of Greg & Japeth. Ginebra’s vaunted backcourt of Tenorio, Caguioa, Mercado, and Helterbrand could only produce a combined 21 points on 10/26 FG shooting (38.4%). Joe Devance also struggled with only 2 points in 10 minutes. Clearly, the Kings need to find reliable players who can consistently be the third and fourth options of this team. Greg + Japeth = 42pts, 16/31 FGs, 51.6 FG%, 6 turnovers Rest of team = 40pts, 18/43 FGs, 41.9 FG%, 12 turnovers * EL GRANADA EXPLODES Gary David exploded for 40 points in Meralco’s last game. That’s just 2 points off form his career-high of 42 way back in the 2011-2012 season. David was on fire against Barako Bull, but it still wasn’t enough for them to win, so expect him to be meaner and feistier here as he’s certainly hungry to get that first W of the season. David Last game: 40pts, 7rebs, 3asts, 7 triples, 14/21 FGs David stats: 20.8ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.3apg, 1.0spg, 2.8 triples per game, 39.3 3pt% * CHRIS NEWSOME: ALL-AROUND THREAT – Newsome has proven to be an all-around gem of a find for Meralco. He can score, rebound, play great D, and distribute the basketball. He just needs to be more aggressive and assertive, and if he can do that here against Ginebra, the Bolts have a great shot at winning. Last game: 12pts, 9rebs, 5asts, 2stls, 6/8 FGs Stats: 11.5ppg, 6.0rpg, 4.0apg, 54.5 FG% * INCONSISTENT AL-HUSSAINI – Rabeh entered the season looking fit and ready, but his numbers have been far from impressive. He has been quite inconsistent in his play, and that needs to be corrected as he is a very important piece of the puzzle for the floundering Bolts. Last game: 4pts, 4rebs, 2asts, 2/7 FGs Stats: 9.5ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.0apg, 48.4 FG% * KEY MATCH-UP: LA TENORIO X BASER AMER – It will be a battle of veteran smarts and savvy versus rookie energy and pizzaz. Tenorio has struggled of late, and he has a golden chance to bounce back and play well against greenhorn Amer, who had a good outing against Barako. Amer is not the type to shy away from tough competition, though, so it’ll be very interesting to see how he will figure against Gilas pool member Tenorio. Tenorio last game: 4pts, 10rebs, 5asts, 1stl, 2/8 FGs Amer last game: 9pts, 3rebs, 6asts, 4/7 Fgs Tenorio stats: 7.5ppg, 4.8rpg, 4.5apg, 1.3spg, 1.0 triple per game, 28.6 FG% Amer stats: 5.7ppg, 2.3rpg, 2.7apg, 42.1 FG% The post 2015-16 PBA PH Cup Preview: Barangay Ginebra Kings vs Meralco Bolts appeared first on Philippine Basketball Association. http://j.mp/1SU6HOa

A new day dawns on Meralco. It has been a busy offseason for the Bolts, who are hoping that their moves will put them in the thick of the fight for the championship in the coming season, which unfurls on Oct. 18. Meralco’s biggest acquisition is no less than Jimmy Alapag, who came out of retirement to take on the leadership role for the Bolts. “I have a better team this year, which means more talent, bigger players, and guys who I think can run the system I will implement,” Meralco head coach Norman Black said, whose team will also rely on its veteran mainstays Gary David and Reynel Hugnatan. The 37-year-old Alapag will also be a big help to Meralco’s rookies Baser Amer and Chris Newsome. The Bolts also welcomed back Rabeh Al-Hussaini, who will beef up the team’s frontline that includes Bryan Faundo and Kelly Nabong. Ronjay Buenafe has also made his return to the team. With all the new faces, Black’s only worry is developing the team’s chemistry. “We have a lot of new pieces, so it’s very important for us to blend them in, get them know the system,” he said. Black’s new-look Meralco squad will be put to the test right away when it faces Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, which underwent major changes with Tim Cone at the helm and Joe Devance bolstering the roster, in its opening game on Oct. 21 at Mall of Asia Arena. The post 2015-16 PBA Season Preview: Meralco Bolts appeared first on Philippine Basketball Association. http://j.mp/1WWv7sR