Aaron Black is determined to make his father proud by winning the gold medal in the men’s basketball event of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
Black, son of Meralco coach Norman Black, stressed that he will do his best just to crack the final roster of Gilas Pilipinas for the biennial meet that opens on Tuesday at the Elephant Hall 2 of the Morodok Techo Stadium in Phnom Penh.
The national cagers are applying finishing touches to their training program at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna and are set to leave on Saturday.
The younger Black, however, has only one thing in mind.
“Our mindset is to win the gold, we want to maximize who’s here with us,” Black said.
“It would be an honor for me being a part of this team. I’m going to do everything I can to be able to help that team and bring back that gold and at the same time. We’re all committed. We’re all ready to bring back that gold for our country.”
Black said he wants to make his father proud.
Norman used to coach the national squad in the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang.
Aside from that, he called the shots for the national team in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima and was part of the Gilas Pilipinas coaching staff in the FIBA World Cup in 2014.
He, however, failed to see action in the international tournament as the EDSA Revolution erupted shortly before his planned naturalization in 1986.
Now, the younger Black has an opportunity of making his country proud, something that Norman would love to see.
“It’s something that I would love to see, Aaron representing Gilas. It will be truly an honor,” Norman said.