Baser Amer put up arguably his best game of his PBA career on Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 32 points to go along with six boards and four assists to help the Meralco Bolts force a knockout game against TNT KaTropa in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
His performance drew praises from Meralco assistant coach Jimmy Alapag who serves as his mentor.
“What can you say? It was really a monster effort from him. Playing like that with our backs against the wall, he came in and put up a career high in a game like this. That says a lot about Baser. He’s going out, fast. For this team, we need that from him. Hopefully, he’s got one more on Friday,” Alapag told InterAksyon.
But Alapag downplayed his role in the improvement of Amer who has become the Bolts’ top guard.
“That’s all his hard work he’s been putting in. Coach Ronnie (Magsanoc) and I have just been trying to give whatever is best helpful advice that we can give him out there in the court. He deserves all the credit and he’s coming in and really just taking a much bigger leadership role in this team. I’m so proud of him,” said Alapag.
The Mighty Mouse believes that Amer’s dedication will help him have a long career in the PBA.
“His work ethic. That’s what allowed guys like Coach Ronnie and I to last in this league for so long. He has that same work ethic. I think if he continues to carry that with him and he continues to put in the work, he’s a young kid with that type of work ethic and character and a great will to win, those are great traits to any player,” he said.
For his part, Amer said that the added pressure was a big reason why he decided to assert himself.
“Kailangan lang namin malimit yung outstanding players nila like Kuya Jayson. Isa siya sa mga idols ko. Masarap makipaglaro sa mga ganun kagaling kasi nakikita mo siya na go hard siya and ayaw niyang magpatalo,” he said.
Amer added that playing against his idol Jayson Castro motivated him to put up a stellar performance.
“Sabi ni coach, do or die sa amin ito. Sabi ko rin sa kanila, kailangan mentality namin aggressive, from the start hanggang matapos. Hindi lang naman ako eh, lahat kami nagtutulungan sa loob, especially defense namin,” he said.
