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Black thrilled to contribute for Ateneo after extended injury layoff

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/sports/10/19/ar2_4463e-101916.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Ateneo&#x27;s Aaron Black dribbles against the defense of UE&#x27;s Renz Palma in their UAAP Season 79 game. Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports </div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – After being forced to watch from the bench as his team suffered back-to-back losses in the UAAP Season 79 tournament, Aaron Black was thrilled to finally make his return for the Ateneo Blue Eagles against University of the East on Wednesday.Black had suffered an injury to his left foot in their third game of the season against Far Eastern University last September 14. Originally diagnosed to miss two weeks, Black instead wound up sitting for more than a month.&quot;I guess we needed more than two weeks, first of all, for strengthening, then getting back in shape,&quot; Black said. &quot;I only started practicing last week.&quot;Black came off the bench in his first game back, and though he felt no more pain in his foot, it was clear that the second-year guard was not yet in peak shape. He struggled from the field, only making two of his six attempts, but made up for it with his playmaking as he tallied three assists – including a dish to Jolo Mendoza for an open triple after an athletic baseline drive.The Blue Eagles wound up with a 75-61 victory to improve to 5-4 in the tournament.&quot;I feel good,&quot; said Black. &quot;There&#x27;s no more pain, but I&#x27;m just trying to get back in to playing shape right now. A few more practices, I should get there.&quot;Black missed a total of five games, including Ateneo&#x27;s back-to-back losses to La Salle and University of the Philippines. He said the experience of having to sit and watch as his teammates struggled was &quot;very frustrating.&quot;&quot;I have never seen myself so intense on the bench,&quot; he admitted. &quot;But it&#x27;s good to be back now. We were able to bounce back, so I&#x27;m happy about that.&quot;&quot;But it was really frustrating, not being able to do anything,&quot; he added.Despite this, Black was patient in his return and did not rush his shots – something the Ateneo coaches took note of.&quot;One of the things that may be a tendency of a scorer coming off a layoff is you want to get your shots right away,&quot; said Ateneo coach Sandy Arespacochaga.&quot;But if you noticed, he got three assists in the first half, and just go this points in the second half. So we were happy with that,&quot; he added. &quot;Hopefully, we see more signs of maturity and growth from our players individually. This way, we&#x27;re also going to improve as a team.&quot;<div>For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">Sports website.</a></div>

After being forced to watch from the bench as his team suffered back-to-back losses in the UAAP Season 79 tournament, Aaron Black was thrilled to finally make his return for the Ateneo Blue Eagles against University of the East on Wednesday.

After being forced to watch from the bench as his team suffered back-to-back losses in the UAAP Season 79 tournament, Aaron Black was thrilled to finally make his return for the Ateneo Blue Eagles against University of the East on Wednesday.

Black thrilled to contribute for Ateneo after extended injury layoff

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Black thrilled to contribute for Ateneo after extended injury layoff

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 19, 2016 05:58 PM PHT

Read More:

uaap

uaap season 79

ateneo blue eagles

aaron black

ue red warriors

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