IN just his second season as a pro, Baser Amer has showed the maturity of a veteran as evidenced by his latest performance last Wednesday.
The former San Beda star fired 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, to go along with 3 assists, leading the Bolts to an 81-66 thumping of Phoenix.
The win enhanced Meralco’s bid to clinch one of two twice-to-beat incentives heading to the playoffs.
Trained by PBA great Jimmy Alapag, now Meralco’s assistant coach, Amer has earned his first PBA All Star appearance this season after averaging career-best Stars line of 16.5 points, 5.12 rebounds and 4.25 assists in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup
The 24-year-old Amer’s impressive showing earned him the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week, beating the likes of Bolts teammate Chris Newsome, TNT’s Kelly Williams, Star guard Paul Lee, Mahindra’s Reden Celda, Ginebra guard Scottie Thompson, Blackwater’s Mike DiGregorio and Phoenix veteran RJ Jazul.
Amer was picked seventh overall by the Bolts in the 2015 PBA draft. In his PBA debut on November 4, 2015, he went scoreless after missing all his four shots, adding just one assist and one board against two turnovers in 14 minutes of action.
In his third game with the Bolts, he was thrust into the starting lineup, scoring nine points, grabbing rebounds and issuing six assists in 30:55 minutes of action, in a losing effort against Barako Bull on November 15, 2015.
Meralco (7 wins, 2 losses) is tied at third place with the Star Hotshots (7-2). Leading the standings are the San Miguel Beermen (5-1) and Barangay Ginebra (5-1). The other teams include TNT KaTropa (6-3), the Alaska Aces (4-3), the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters (4-4) and the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (4-5).
Bringing up the rear are the GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-6), the Mahindra Floodbuster (2-7), the Blackwater Elite (2-7) and the NLEX Road Warriors (0-8).
The PBA takes a one-week break to make way for the Southeast Asia Basketball Association games which will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.