For the first time in franchise history, the Blackwater Elite are now 2-0
Behind their former FEU Tamaraws duo of Mac Belo and Denok Miranda, the Blackwater Elite escaped the Meralco Bolts, 86-84, to keep its record unblemished, Sunday evening at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Super rookie Belo sustained his strong start, finishing the game with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 2-of-2 from downtown, six rebounds, and three steals. He scored 12 points in the payoff period, including the game-tying triple with 1:40 left in the game.
“In this game against Meralco, we have to show some character, we have to show that we are the team that we want to be,” said Blackwater head coach Leo Isaac.
After crucial swat by Belo on Reynel Hugnatan, it was Blackwater’s turn for a shot at the lead with 19 seconds left. And it was Miranda who stepped up to the task.
“The last play was an option for anybody actually,” Isaac reflected. “The other four guys could have taken the last shot but the veteran that he is, Denok Miranda rose up to the challenge.”
The veteran guard was able to find his way in the paint, knocking down a tough contested lay-in with 3.8 ticks remaining to give the Elite the lead.
New Meralco pick-up Joseph Yeo had a chance to win the game but his three-pointer was well-contested resulting to the miss.
“We challenged Meralco all the way and true enough, Denok Miranda was able to hit the difficult play. Defensively we held our own against the top Meralco offense,” Blackwater’s mentor added.
Miranda finished the game with 11 points and seven assists while Kyle Pascual added 13 markers.
Though outrebounded by a huge margin, the Elite were able to take care of the ball better than their opponents, committing just 12 turnovers compared to 21 for Meralco. This led to a 20 to 13 advantage in points off of it.
Cliff Hodge flirted with a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Chris Newsome added 11 points and nine rebounds while rookie Jonathan Grey chipped in 11 markers.
The Blackwater Elite (2-0) will have a tough task on Friday, December 2, taking on the TNT Katropa (0-1). The Meralco Bolts (0-1) face the revamped NLEX Road Warriors (1-0) the next day. Both games will still be played at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Blackwater (86) – Belo 25, Pascual 13, Miranda 11, Dela Cruz 8, Sena 6, Pinto 5, Aguilar 5, Cervantes 5, Forrester 3, Ababou 3, Gamalinda 2, Banal 0, Buenafe 0.
Meralco (84) – Hodge 14, Grey 11, Newsome 11, Al-Hussaini 9, Amer 8, Daquioag 6, Hugnatan 6, Yeo 5, Chua 4, Faundo 4, Nabong 4, Dillinger 2.
Quarterscores: 22-27, 39-41, 68-67, 86-84
