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In the entire history of the PBA, only three rookies selected outside of the first round ended up winning the Rookie of the Year award. Leo Austria came first as the 10th pick overall in 1985 (there were only six teams at the time), Gerry Esplana followed as the ninth pick in 1990 (eight teams) and Larry Fonacier as the 15th pick in 2005.
It may not be the full-fledged Rookie of the Year award, but Aaron Black hopes to be in the same boat as the aforementioned PBA players.
In the 2019 PBA Draft, 17 players were selected ahead of the Ateneo product until his father, Meralco Bolts head coach Norman Black, selected him. Black joins first pick Roosevelt Adams (TerraFirma), fourth pick Barkley Eboña (Alaska), ninth pick Aris Dionisio (Magnolia) and 10th pick Arvin Tolentino (Barangay Gin) in the race to the exclusive Outstanding Rookie recognition.
“It’s every kid’s dream to be a first-round player or to be one of the best picks growing up, so it definitely inspired me to work harder,” Black said of being chosen in the second round.
“I didn’t just go to Meralco in the second round, I went to my father’s team so it was like a double whammy,” Black added, feeling it was a predetermined pick. “But when I fell in the second round, I fell into the right team. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because it pushed me to do better. I worked really hard during the run, thinking I had a lot of people who wanted to prove me wrong.”
Black took a unique path to the PBA when he stopped joining the Blue Eagles Athenaeum in his final year of eligibility. He felt that training abroad and playing outside of college competitions would better prepare him for the pros.
“I give my family credit for helping me make that decision because I would not have taken that path without their help. It was a very difficult decision,” he shared.
“Confidence-wise, it was very important to me because when I went to America, I played guys heading into the NBA Draft. I was able to compete there. Then when I came back here, coach Charles Tiu and me for Mighty Sports. for the Jones Cup. “
With Mighty Sports, Black was able to see up close and personal how PBA imports to Renaldo Balkman and Eugene Phelps worked. He was also pushed around by other talented Filipino players like Jason Brickman, Mikey Williams, Jeremiah Gray and fellow Outstanding Rookie candidate Adams.
“That’s really when it started for me. Being with my teammates in practice and playing against the national teams of other countries gave me a lot of confidence to play in the PBA D-League and the MBPL,” added Black.
“I also thank my coaches in the MPBL and PBA D-League for giving me the freedom to play point guard because that is what I wanted to explore. I knew it would be an advantage for me to be a bigger point guard in the PBA.”
Black knew she tried hard to better prepare him for the challenges of the PBA. Still, it took him a few games to prove to himself that he really belongs.
“No matter how hard you work, you really won’t know if you belong on that stage until you get there,” Black said.
“For me, it was Game 4 against Magnolia. Heading into that game, I was super nervous. They have some of the best shooting guards in the league in (Jio) Jalalon, Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, (Chris) Banchero and Justin Melton is a really good defender. After the first half, I was able to get a couple of assists and score some points. I started to feel like I belonged because I could compete against these great point guards. “
Black finished averaging 7.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the knockout round for Meralco, shooting a solid 39% from three-point range.
“Winning this award would mean everything to me,” said the 24-year-old guard. “This might be the only bubble conference in the history of the PBA. So for me, to have his name in the history books as the best rookie in this conference, I worked really hard for it. It’s something I’d enjoy. lying if I said I didn’t want the award. It’s a credit also to my teammates and coaches because without them, I wouldn’t have been in the conversation for that award. “
While there has yet to be an official announcement, it has been put on the table that all 2019 PBA Draft selections will continue to compete for Rookie of the Year honors in the upcoming season to give them a chance to win the linear award. which has its roots in 1976 when Gil Cortez first won it.
For Black, while it would be nice to win, his focus would be helping his team win a championship.
“Next season, we should be chasing a championship. I felt like we could have made it on the bubble, but Scottie (Thompson) beat us at the buzzer,” he closed. “If I play well and the Rookie of the Year award comes, it will be great, of course, but my priority is to help Meralco win a championship.”
