Baser Amer

Baser Amer

Amer with the Meralco Bolts in 2020
No. 14–NLEX Road Warriors
Position	Point guard
League	PBA
Personal information
Born	(1992-09-29) September 29, 1992 (age 32) Davao City, Philippines [1]
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Holy Child College of Davao (Davao City) San Beda-Rizal (Taytay, Rizal)
College	San Beda (2011–2015)
PBA draft	2015: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Playing career	2015–present
Career history
2015–2020	Meralco Bolts
2021–2024	Blackwater Bossing
2024–present	NLEX Road Warriors
Career highlights and awards
3× PBA All-Star (2017–2019) PBA All-Star Game MVP (2018 Mindanao) 4x PBA D-League champion (2012–13 Aspirants', 2013–14 Aspirants', 2013–14 Foundation, 2014–15 Aspirants') 4× NCAA Philippines champion (2011–2014) NCAA Philippines Finals MVP (2012) 2× PCCL champion (2014, 2015 [n 1] ) PCCL Mythical Five (2014) 3x Father Martin Cup champion (2011 Division 2, 2011-12 Open, 2012-13 Open) Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup champion (2015)
Medals Men's basketball Representing   Philippines Southeast Asian Games 2015 Singapore Team 2017 Kuala Lumpur Team

Baser C. Amer (born September 29, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He earned the moniker, The Hammer during his collegiate stint, and is still his moniker to this day. ^{[3] [4]}

He played as a point guard for the San Beda University Red Lions (then San Beda College) before being selected seventh overall in the 2015 PBA draft by Meralco. During his playing career with the San Beda Red Cubs, was a two-time NCAA Juniors' Basketball champion and was named 2009 NCAA Juniors' Rookie of the Year and 2010 NCAA Juniors' Finals Most Valuable Player. During his playing career with the Red Lions, he was a four-time NCAA Seniors' Basketball champion, and won the 2012 NCAA Finals Most Valuable Player award.

Early life

Amer was born to a Muslim family in Davao City. ^[5] He started playing basketball at age five, as his father wanted him to be a professional basketball player. ^[6] At an early age, he was trained to play basketball against his father and brother, both of whom stand between 5'8" to 5'10". He idolized Jimmy Alapag even when he was a kid. ^[7]

High school career

Amer played for the Holy Child College of Davao Reds from 2006 to 2009. ^[8] During his time in Davao City, he was initially discovered by then-national youth head coach Eric Altamirano, who at that time, put up the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) and held open tryouts. He joined the tryouts and was ranked Top 20 out of the pool of 150 players. He was also invited to the Nike Elite Camp where he was named to the Mythical Five and MVP. Then-San Beda Red Cub coach Ato Badolato discovered him in the Nike Camp and recruited him to play and study at San Beda. ^[9]

He had to take a one-year residency period under NCAA rules before finally suiting up for the Red Cubs in 2009. In his rookie year, he steered the Red Cubs to their seventeenth NCAA Juniors title, their last one under coach Badolato. ^[10] The following year, he won the Juniors season MVP while leading the Cubs to another title in 2010. ^{[11] [12]} He averaged 16.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 11.7 assists per game in his final year with the Cubs. ^[13]

College career

Amer, now a highly sought-after prospect, was heavily recruited by several schools, but chose to stay at San Beda. Despite playing as backup point guard in his rookie year, he led the Lions in assists, with 4.5 per game average. He also helped the Red Lions to win another title in 2012 and was awarded the Finals MVP despite coming off the bench. ^[14] Upon the graduation of Anjo Caram, he took the starting point guard slot and led the Lions to two more titles in 2013 and 2014 where thanks to the distribution of Amer, who already had an incredible 11 assists at the half, SBC slowly started to turn the tide of the ball game in their favor and went ahead by eight, 22-14, at the end of the first period in the pivotal Game 2. ^[15]

He ended his college career failing to secure the six-peat for San Beda whilst being out of action for three months prior during the season after dislocating his right shoulder in a game against Letran. He reinjured his shoulder after hacking Letran guard Mark Cruz in the second quarter, which resulted to an unsportsmanlike foul whistled at him. ^[16]

Although he was unable to attain the ideal end to his college career, Baser left the ivory-clad walls of San Beda University (then San Beda College) with a wealth of experience and a grateful heart. Despite the losing the coveted prize to Letran, he had solid numbers for the Jamike Jarin-mentored squadron as he finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and one steal. He also played a pivotal factor in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter as he and fellow graduating Bedan Ola Adeogun sparked an 8-0 run to forge an overtime. Even though the Red Lions fell short in the 5-minute extension period, Amer stressed that he has no regrets for choosing San Beda and added that he will always be proud to be part of the Bedan community. “We may not be able to get the championship, but I have no regrets playing for San Beda,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “My journey as a Red Lion ends, but I will always be a proud Bedan.” ^[17]

College statistics

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011-12 †	San Beda	18	23.79	.372	TBC	TBC	4.8	5.7	1.42	0	4.5
2012-13 †	San Beda	18	26.9	.364	TBC	TBC	5	6.16	1	0	9.89
2013-14 †	San Beda	17	30.61	.363	TBC	TBC	4.3	8.2	2.6	0.2	14.3
2014-15 †	San Beda	16	33.81	.387	TBC	TBC	5.2	8.7	3	0.1	16.8
2015-16	San Beda	9	28.67	.412	.491	.76	4.9	7.25	2.3	0	10.2

Amateur career

Amer joined the then-D-League powerhouse NLEX Road Warriors in 2012, where he was a part of three championship teams. ^[18] When NLEX took the jump to the pros in 2014, he was signed by the Hapee Fresh Fighters and played alongside fellow college standouts and future draft batchmates Chris Newsome, Troy Rosario, Earl Scottie Thompson and Garvo Lanete. ^[19]

Professional career

Amer was picked seventh overall by the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association in the 2015 PBA draft. ^[20] On October 30, 2015, it was announced by his agent, Charlie Dy via his Instagram account that Amer already signed his rookie deal with Meralco. ^[21] In his PBA debut on November 4, 2015, went scoreless after missing all his four shots, adding just one assist and one board against two turnovers in 14 minutes of action. ^[22] In his third game with the Bolts, he was thrust into the starting lineup, scoring 9 points (on 57% FG shooting), 3 rebounds, 6 assists in 30:55 minutes of action, in a losing effort against Barako Bull on November 15, 2015.

He was selected for both the 2017 and 2018 PBA All-Star Games, both playing for the Mindanao All-Stars. In 2018, Baser was named the All-Star Game MVP after delivering 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the win. ^[23]

On February 4, 2021, Amer, along with Bryan Faundo, was traded to the Blackwater Bossing for Mac Belo. ^[24] On December 30, 2021, Amer signed a one-year contract extension with the Bossing. ^[25] He signed another one-year contract extension with the team on December 29, 2022. ^[26] The contract was supposed to end on December 31, 2023, but on the same day he signed a contract extension with the team until the end of the 2023–24 PBA Commissioner's Cup. ^[27] He was left unsigned after the end of the conference and became an unrestricted free agent. ^[28]

On February 13, 2024, Amer signed with the NLEX Road Warriors, ^[29] reuniting him with his former college coach Frankie Lim.

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

As of the end of 2023–24 season ^[30]

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015–16	Meralco	46	17.9	.378	.264	.809	1.7	1.6	.4	.1	5.5
2016–17	Meralco	47	29.1	.443	.397	.857	3.6	3.1	.8	.0	12.2
2017–18	Meralco	41	30.2	.429	.404	.776	4.0	4.4	.9	.1	12.4
2019	Meralco	44	28.2	.391	.374	.875	3.1	2.5	1.0	.1	12.1
2020	Meralco	18	23.7	.366	.340	.750	2.8	2.7	.4	—	9.0
2021	Blackwater	18	23.0	.296	.262	.762	2.4	2.4	.6	.1	7.1
2022–23	Blackwater	31	24.8	.414	.327	.813	1.9	2.9	.5	—	10.9
2023–24	Blackwater	17	18.0	.363	.241	.500	1.5	1.5	.4	.1	4.9
	NLEX
Career		262	25.1	.402	.348	.814	2.8	2.7	.7	.1	9.9

International career

Amer guarding against Malaysia in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.

Amer was part of the 12-man Sinag Pilipinas lineup that competed in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament held in Singapore, where they won the gold medal and the Gilas Cadets lineup that is currently competing in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^{[31] [32] [33]}

He was included in the 15-man Gilas Pilipinas lineup for the third window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. He was not selected to play in their first game against Chinese Taipei men's national basketball team. But, along with forward Carl Bryan Cruz, he completed for the national team against Australia, replacing Jio Jalalon and Allein Maliksi in. ^[34] In his first game for the Gilas Pilipinas, nine players from the Philippines and four players from Australia were ejected during the 4:02 mark of the third quarter due to being involved in the free-for-all. Only three players, among of which was Amer, remained. After two of the three remaining players fouled out, Philippines lost the game against Australia by default with 1:57 left in the third quarter. Amer was the last man standing, with 3 points in 2 minutes.

International statistics

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017 Southeast Asian Games	Philippines	4	21.25	.329	.207	.916	3	5	0.5	0.25	7
2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers	Philippines	1	2.04	.500	.500	0	0	0	0	0	3

Notes

1. San Beda is co-champions with FEU. ^[2]

References

1. Facts and figures about the 2015 PBA Rookie draft applicants Archived August 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine sports5.ph, August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2015
2. "PCCL honors co-champs San Beda, FEU". January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
3. "Baser "The Hammer" Amer by luis_yt Extra". SporterTV.
4. "Baser "The Hammer" Amer NCAA and PBA". TopHDO. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
5. Saldajeno, Ivan (May 22, 2015). "Bedans, Davaoenos proud to Amer for making SEA Games team". Dugout.ph. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
6. "DRAFT PROFILE: BASER AMER". Sports5.ph. Sports5. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
7. Leongson, Randolph B. (August 25, 2015). "To have Alapag as mentor a 'dream come true' for Amer". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved August 25, 2015.
8. Saberon-Ablayan, Marianne (August 25, 2015). "Baser Amer picked by Meralco Bolts". Sun.Star Davao. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
9. Olivares, Rick (February 16, 2012). "Reminiscing with San Beda's Baser Amer and Xavier U coach Arvin Martinez". Bleacher's Brew. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
10. "Amer-led Red Cubs seek NCAA dynasty under new coach". GMA News and Public Affairs . November 1, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
11. "Baser Amer Helps San Beda Red Cubs To Win The NCAA Season 86 Finals Championship". BallersPinas. October 16, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
12. Olivares, Rick (October 17, 2010). "San Beda looks to continue their title run". Bleacher's Brew. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
13. Domingo, Mia (March 23, 2013). "Baser Amer roars from Davao to Manila". Rappler . Retrieved August 25, 2015.
14. "Lion King: San Beda star Baser Amer named NCAA finals MVP". InterAKTV. October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
15. Ganglani, Naveen (June 27, 2015). "San Beda Red Lions open 6-peat bid by beating Mapua". Rappler. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
16. "Baser Amer out for three months". Inquirer. July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
17. "Baser Amer bids heartfelt farewell to San Beda". Rappler. October 30, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
18. Domingo, Mia Rengie Angela (October 22, 2012). "NLEX rebuilds with powerhouse D-League lineup; Big Chill, Fruitas among favorites". InterAKTV. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
19. Terrado, Reuben (October 9, 2014). "Hapee Toothpaste set to add NU's Troy Rosario to powerhouse D-League lineup". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
20. "Moala Tautuaa goes first overall in 2015 PBA Draft". Rappler . August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
21. "Charlie on Instagram: "Congrats BASER @baseramer07 #OrangeMen @meralcoboltsbasketball @meralcoboltsofficial #BansangMeralco #PBASeason41 #Rookie"". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
22. Sacamos, Karlo (November 5, 2015). "Black still sees Baser Amer as Meralco's point guard of the future despite inauspicious debut". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
23. Lintag, Paul. "PBA: Mindanao starts 2018 All-Star Games with big win over Gilas". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
24. Ramos, Gerry (February 4, 2021). "Belo-Amer trade approved by PBA after Faundo added to package". Sports Interactive Network. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
25. Ramos, Gerry (December 30, 2021). "Blackwater signs Ebona to two-year extension, Amer to one-year deal". Sports Interactive Network. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
26. Ramos, Gerry (December 29, 2022). "Baser Amer signs new contract with Blackwater Bossing". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
27. Ramos, Gerry (December 31, 2023). "Baser Amer to play for Blackwater until end of Commissioner's Cup". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
28. Ramos, Gerry (February 6, 2024). "Blackwater, Baser Amer part ways after contract impasse". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
29. Ramos, Gerry (February 13, 2024). "Baser Amer officially a Road Warrior after signing NLEX deal". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
30. "Amer Baser Player Profile, NLEX Road Warriors - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
31. "Douthit, Ravena banner Sinag Pilipinas 12-man lineup". CNN Philippines . April 13, 2015. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
32. Fuentebella, Josef (June 21, 2015). "Gilas Cadets win gold in SEA Games Basketball Tournament". The La Sallian. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
33. "Amer, Rivero replace Parks, Van Opstal in SEAG-bound Gilas Cadets roster". CNN Philippines . May 20, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
34. "FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers: Amer added to Gilas for Australia rematch". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved July 1, 2018.