MANILA, Philippines: Meralco's playoff drive suffered a major blow as do-it-all guard Aaron Black tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) after results of the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) came out Monday.

Team manager Paolo Trillo confirmed the bad news as the former Ateneo standout will be out for at least 10 months.

The left-handed son of PBA grand slam coach Norman Black sustained the injury during the early part of the second half of Meralco's 74-51 rout of Magnolia last Sunday at the Philsports Arena.

Black had three points, five rebounds and two assists in 16 minuets before the accident happened.

"Accidental yung bangga. Hindi lang kirot but he heard something popped.

I know when he was in college he had injury also," Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said, in recalling the accident that happened with still over 10 minutes to play in the third quarter.

Meralco has won its last two games and is currently tied for sixth to eighth spots in the standings with Rain or Shine and Terrafirma.

The Bolts will be playing minus Black on Saturday when they travel to Batangas City to take on unbeaten San Miguel Beermen.