Friday night was a disappointment all around for the Blackwater Elite. Their comeback from 21 points down fell short, ending their bid to end their three-game skid at the hands of the Magnolia Hotshots, 72-78.
But for main forwards Mac Belo and Allein Maliksi, what made the loss tougher to fathom for the whole Elite was their failure to win for head coach Leo Isaac, who is celebrating his 57th birthday.
“Oo nga eh. Sayang,” said Belo, who top-billed for Blackwater with a game-high 25 points — 14 in the final frame alone — on top of six rebounds and six steals.
“Kung nanalo sana kami, pa-birthday gift namin. E kaso talo.”
“Birthday gift sana kay coach Leo. Sayang talaga kasi nandun na eh, kinapos lang kaya nakakahinayang,” echoed Maliksi, who produced 17 markers, on the other hand.
“Actually buong players, coaching staff naghihinayang.”
The Elite had been just a few moments away from providing the perfect gift for Isaac, had Belo — who had made it 72-all from 12 down — not been caught for a backing violation, and had he decided to shoot instead of passing it to Nard Pinto seconds later.
“Kasalanan ko rin. Last possession naturnover ko,” the Midsayap, North Cotabato-born Belo lamented. “[At] may situation na pwede na ‘kong lumay-up, pero mas pinili ko siyang ipasa. Medyo kinapos yung tira ni Nard.
“Pero, ayun, alam ko matututo ako sa ganun.”
The horizon is becoming bleaker for the now 2-5 Blackwater. They still have four games to save their 2018 Philippine Cup run, however, and for Maliksi, improvements as a collective are what they badly need.
“Collective effort dapat para talunin mo yung isang elite team, isang champion team,” said Maliksi.
“So yun sana, more on mag-improve pa kaming mga teammates ko and ako din and as a team mag-improve pa kami.”
