In a game with no team having clear edge for the entire 48-minute stretch, the Blackwater Elites notched its first win of the 2016 Oppo PBA Governor’s Cup against the Star Hotshots, 100-98 on a thrilling Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The game saw a well-balanced scoring output for Blackwater as six of their players scored in double figures led by 16 of JP Erram.
“It was a good effort in the part of our locals. It’s good to have this victory especially with what happened to Gilbert Bulawan,” Blackwater head coach Leo Isaac said. “It took its toll on us in terms of the wake, so medyo nagluluksa pa yung team(on last game).”
After three quarters, the game was knotted at 75 apiece in a game-long offensive exchange between the two teams, who both dropped their opening game assignments. Unfortunately for the Hotshots, they would play the last ten minutes of the match without Marqus Blakely due to foul trouble.
Prior the intense trading of clutch baskets late, the Elites were up by five but saw their lead vanished quickly against Star’s locals. Allein Maliksi drilled all of his four triples in the fourth, including a lead-giving pull up in transition with 14 seconds remaining. As Star took a momentary 98-97 advantage, Blackwater responded with Eric Dawson punishing the Hotshot’s suffocating defense to score on an easy bucket.
After a timeout by Star, Maliksi drove to the rim but his shot was thwarted by JP Erram. With only three seconds left, Dawson made a split, while James Yap hit nothing but air on his half-court attempt to tie the game.
Erram said that he focused on the little things to try and limit his match-up, which was Blakely for most of the game.
“For me, doing the little things like pressuring him, blocking him out,” Erram shared. “So yung foul trouble niya siguro buenas na rin samin pero di siya masa-stop talaga, pero basta ma-limit lang.”
Blackwater shot 41/81 from the floor compared to Star’s 45 percent clip. They also had more points off turnovers, 15-12 despite the Hotshots scoring more from the foul stripe with eight more makes.
Sangalang played well in the loss with 18 points off the bench, with six rebounds on a perfect 8/8 shooting. Maliksi topped the team with 20.
Blackwater (1-1) will next face the Rain or Shine (0-1) on July 29 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. On the other hand, Star (0-2) seeks its first win of the conference against the NLEX Road Warriors(1-1) on July 27 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Blackwater (100) – Erram 16, Canada 14, Dawson 14, Lastimosa 12, Pascual 10, Gamalinda 10, Cortez 9, Sumang 6, Melano 4, Sena 0, Reyes 0, Vosotros 0, Dela Cruz 0.
Star (98) – Maliksi 20, Sangalang 18, Blakely 12, Pingris 12, Simon 9, Barroca 8, Yap 8, Mallari 5, Garcia 4, Pascual 2, Brondial 0, Reavis 0.
Quarterscores: 22-17, 42-42, 75-75, 100-98.
Videos courtesy of Sports5
