Aaron Black
No. 1 – Meralco Bolts
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeaguePBA
Personal information
Born (1996-12-03) December 3, 1996
Philippines
NationalityFilipino / American
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolAteneo de Manila
CollegeAteneo de Manila University
PBA draft2019: 2nd round, 18th overall[lower-alpha 1]
Selected by the Meralco Bolts
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Quezon City Capitals
2019–2020Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines
2020–presentMeralco Bolts
Career highlights and awards

Norman Aaron Black (born December 3, 1996) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He won the PBA Outstanding Rookie award in 2021.[1][2] He is the son of former PBA Best Import Norman Black, who is also the head coach of Meralco.[3][4][5]

College career

After playing in high school for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets, Black committed to the senior team of Ateneo.[6] He didn't play that season as he was a team captain for the Philippine team in the 2014 FIBA Asia U-18 Championship.[7]

He made his college debut the next season, scoring 11 points in a win over the Adamson Soaring Falcons.[8] He scored 13 points in 13 minutes to extend Ateneo's win streak to five against the De La Salle Green Archers.[9] His team lost in the semis that season to the FEU Tamaraws.[10]

With Season 78 MVP Kiefer Ravena graduating, Black transitioned from role player to one of the Eagles' top players.[11] In their first game of Season 79, he had a game-high 23 points and a win against the UST Growling Tigers.[12] In a game against FEU, he injured his left foot, causing him to sit out for three weeks.[13] He returned in a win against the UE Red Warriors.[13] He scored 16 points to help Ateneo prevent La Salle from sweeping the elimination round.[14] For that performance, he was named Player of the Week.[15] They lost in the Finals to La Salle.[16]

In Seasons 80 and 81, Black saw his stats dip under Coach Tab Baldwin, but was still a reliable contributor as Ateneo won back-to-back titles.[17] He forwent his final playing year.[17]

Professional career

Quezon City Capitals (2019)

After playing for Ateneo, he next played for the Quezon City Capitals in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. He tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for a triple-double in a win against the Binan City Laguna Heroes.[18] Black averaged 11.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in the 14 games that he played for Quezon City.[19]

AMA Online Education Titans (2019)

In 2019, Black played for the AMA Online Education Titans in the semi-professional PBA D-League Foundation Cup.[20] He had 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists in his debut.[21] In their first win, he registered 26 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 assists, becoming only the third player in that league's history to rack up multiple triple-doubles after Mike Tolomia (twice) and Jeron Teng (thrice).[22] He cooled down slightly as AMA lost to Marinerong Pilipino, with only 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.[23] He had another triple-double with 45 points, 18 assists, and 12 rebounds as AMA qualified for the quarterfinals.[24] He closed his D-League stint with 22 points as Marinerong Pilipino eliminated them.[25]

Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines (2019–2020)

Black was traded to the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines[26][19] where he became teammates with future Meralco teammate Alvin Pasaol.[27]

Meralco Bolts (2020–present)

In the 2019 PBA Draft, Black was drafted 18th overall by the Meralco Bolts, who are coached by his father, Norman Black.[5] In the Bolts' first win, he produced 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, which was better than his losing debut of 6 points, 3 assists, and 2 turnovers.[28] He contributed 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal in an overtime win against the Magnolia Hotshots. He copped a Rookie of the Week honor as Meralco started the year 3–1.[29] They finished 7–4, qualifying for the playoffs as a 5th seed and playing against the San Miguel Beermen.[30] In Game 1, he dropped 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as Meralco defeated San Miguel, 78–71, and forced a rubber match for a semis seat.[3] They clinched a spot in the semifinals with a dominating 90–68 win.[31] In the semis, they lost in 5 games to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, with Scottie Thompson preventing Meralco from going to the Finals.[31] He finished the season by winning the Rookie of the Year Award, becoming the lowest draft pick to do so.[2] He was also named to the All-Rookie Team.[32]

On May 24, 2022, he signed a two-year extension with the team.[33]

PBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

As of the end of 2022–23 season[34]

Season-by-season averages

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Meralco 1817.8.389.347.6923.71.7.3.06.6
2021 Meralco 3123.7.398.271.6413.52.1.4.28.5
2022–23 Meralco 4733.3.430.369.6605.74.4.4.214.6
Career 9627.3.418.335.6584.63.1.4.111.1

National team career

Black was a team captain for the Philippine team in the 2014 FIBA Asia U-18 Championship.[7] He also played for Mighty Sports in the 2019 William Jones Cup.[35]

Notes

  1. ↑ The 2019 draft was composed of two drafts: the Gilas special draft, which consists of 5 players reserved for the Gilas Pilipinas program, and the regular draft. Black was selected as the eighteenth pick of the regular draft.

References

  1. ↑ "PBA: Aaron Black makes history as lowest drafted player to win top rookie honor". cnn.
  2. 1 2 Dioquino, Delfin (January 17, 2021). "Aaron Black claims Outstanding Rookie plum". Rappler. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Aaron Black makes dad Norman proud". www.pba.ph.
  4. ↑ "Norman Black says son Aaron 'didn't get my height, but got my confidence'". Spin.ph.
  5. 1 2 "Playing for dad 'different,' 'familiar' for Aaron Black". Rappler. October 3, 2020.
  6. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (March 12, 2014). "Aaron Black still blue: Norman's son commits to Ateneo after stellar junior career with Eaglets". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Terrado, Reuben (July 1, 2014). "Aaron Black not included in Ateneo roster for Season 77". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Fiery Ateneo debut just the first step as Aaron Black tries to live up to proud name". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  9. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (November 9, 2015). "Unsung heroes Adrian Wong, Aaron Black give Blue Eagles depth ahead of playoffs". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  10. ↑ Bracher, Jane (November 21, 2015). "Belo buzzer-beater pushes FEU past Ateneo into UAAP Finals". RAPPLER. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  11. ↑ Terrado, Reuben. "Kiefer lessons come in handy as Aaron Black makes transition from role player to go-to guy". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  12. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (September 4, 2016). "Thirdy Ravena, Aaron Black form deadly one-two punch for Ateneo in win over UST Tigers". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Terrado, Reuben (October 20, 2016). "Ateneo guard Aaron Black vows to get back in top shape soon as Final Four race heats up". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  14. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (November 5, 2016). "Ateneo shatters La Salle cloak of invincibility, spoils Archers sweep bid with famous upset". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  15. ↑ Terrado, Reuben. "Aaron Black earns UAAP Player of the Week nod in leading Ateneo's masterful win vs La Salle". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  16. ↑ Marquez, CJ. "La Salle sweeps Ateneo to capture UAAP Season 79 men's basketball crown". cnn. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  17. 1 2 Leongson, Randolph B. (January 30, 2019). "Aaron Black eager to spread his wings after leaving Eagles' nest". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  18. ↑ Li, Matthew (June 26, 2019). "QC's Aaron Black, Gen San's Mikey Williams shine despite Navotas-Rizal game halted". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  19. 1 2 Li, Matthew (October 7, 2019). "Zamboanga gets Aaron Black for Costelo, Fajarito". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  20. ↑ Leongson, Randolph B. (July 24, 2019). "Paras, Black team up at AMA as Jonas Villanueva makes D-League coaching debut". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  21. ↑ Bacnis, Justine (July 25, 2019). "Asia's Lashes weathers Aaron Black's triple-double outing for first win". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Aaron Black tallies second triple-double as AMA spoils Jonas Villanueva's coaching debut". Tiebreaker Times. August 1, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Jhonard Clarito shines anew as Marinerong Pilipino turns back AMA". Tiebreaker Times. August 8, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Aaron Black posts crazy 45–18–12 line, punches AMA's QF ticket". Tiebreaker Times. September 5, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Poligrates stars anew as Marinerong Pilipino eliminates AMA". Tiebreaker Times. September 12, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  26. ↑ Sacamos, Karlo (October 7, 2019). "QC Capitals give up standout Aaron Black for two Zamboanga role players". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  27. ↑ Gonzales, Iggy (February 29, 2020). "ASISTIO AND BLACK BRINGING THE ONE BIG FIGHT IN ZAMBOANGA". pinoyliga.com. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  28. ↑ Bacnis, Justine (October 14, 2020). "Norman Black proud of son Aaron's solid outing vs Alaska". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Paul Lee's heater leads to PBA Bubble Player of the Week honor". Tiebreaker Times. November 10, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  30. ↑ Reyes, Kate (November 12, 2020). "Bolts reflect on the tough love, bond built by coach Norman Black". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  31. 1 2 Terrado, Reuben (December 30, 2020). "PBA yearender: Meralco Bolts savor best all-Filipino showing ever". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  32. ↑ Bacnis, Justine (March 7, 2021). "Aaron Black leads PBA All-Rookie team". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  33. ↑ Ramos, Gerry (May 24, 2022). "No sophomore jinx as Aaron Black rewarded with two-year extension". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Aaron Black Player Profile, Meralco Bolts - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  35. ↑ Marquez, CJ (May 20, 2019). "Returning Mighty Sports PH hopes to repeat success in Jones Cup". cnn. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
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