The Blackwater Elite found themselves stifled by CBA club team Guangzhou Long Lions, suffering a 69-88 beatdown, Wednesday evening at the East Asian Games Dome in Macau.
The loss dropped the Elite to an even 1-1 record in Group B of Asia League’s Summer Super 8 tourney. And the Elite have no one to blame than themselves after a very horrid final frame.
Blackwater rallied back from 11 points down in the third canto, even picking up a 59-58 lead late in the quarter after a Renz Palma layup.
The Long Lions locked in on defense while the Elite crumbled in the final frame. Blackwater could not find the hole in the first five minutes of the game. Nard Pinto was able to break the drought with a split on the stripe — however the Long Lions already held an insurmountable double-digit lead.
Mike DiGregorio paced the Elite with 13 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Raymar Jose and Allein Maliksi finished with 11 points each.
JP Erram, who had 20 points and 16 rebounds in their win over Seoul Samsung yesterday, was held down to just six points.
Jing Mingxin had a game-high 21 points for the Chinese squad, while Guo Kai tallied a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Blackwater will next face B. League team Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka on Thursday, July 19, at 3:00pm.
The Scores:
Blackwater 69 – DiGregorio 13, Jose 11, Maliksi 11, Sumang 8, Erram 6, Palma 6, Javier 5, Pinto 5, Banal 2, Belo 2, Zamar 0.
Guangzhou 88 – Jing 21, Guo 16, Shirelijian 14, Zheng 14, Gu 10, Tian 5, Wang 3, Yao 3, Heng 2, Song 0.
Quarterscores: 21-24, 37-46, 58-59, 69-88.
