The Philippine Arena might hold a special place in the hearts of the owners of the Mahindra Floodbuster
Just like in the first-ever PBA game in the Philippine Arena, the Columbian Autocar Corporation-owned franchise once again bested the Blackwater Elite. Alex Mallari played inspired basketball to power Mahindra to a 97-93 overtime win to take home their first victory of the season, Sunday afternoon in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The win puts the Floodbuster on the ledger with a 1-5 record. The Elite, on the other hand, drop to 4-2.
“It’s been a while, it’s been a while,” an exhasperated Chris Gavina said after the win.
Mallari tied his career-high in the game, scoring 23 points on 50 percent shooting to go along with 11 rebounds and six steals.
The Filipino-American’s most important buckets though came in extra time. Up by just a solitary point with 1:13 left, Mallari first split two defenders for a highlight layup. He then followed this up by a breakaway lay-in with 43 ticks left following a crucial turnover by Ael Banal.
Free throws by Arana almost sealed the game later on as the Floodbuster led by seven, 92-85, with 30 ticks remaining. Misses by Nico Salva though on the stripe gave life to the Elite but the La Salle alumnus sealed the win with free throws with 1.8 seconds left.
Arana scored seven of his 19 points in overtime.
“First off, I really want to thank God for such a great blessing to our team and our organization,” Gavina reflected. “I give so much credit to our players heart, I look at them in their eyes during a timeout and told them to keep believing.”
Down by as much as 15 points with 7:50 left in the game, Blackwater became overconfident as they did not display the same vigor on defense.
Mahindra’s huge fourth quarter rally started with a triple LA Revilla made after Art dela Cruz dared him to shoot it. The next domino then dropped as a bevy of errors by the Elite led to baskets by Mallari and Elorde. A conversion by Mallari, his ninth-point in the quarter, tied the game at 81-all with 1:41 on the clock, capping a 17-2 rally.
Free throws by Belo broke a four-minute scoring drought for the Elite but was answered by a running hook by Nico Salva with 46.4 ticks left to send the game into extra time.
“We were able to find our right combination,” Gavina said.
Behind rookie Mac Belo, the Elite were able to turn the game around, going on a 13-3 rally to go ahead by as high as 15, 79-64, early in the fourth frame.
“Blackwater was just tough. They have an amazing player in [Mac] Belo and I definitely miss [John] Pinto,” Gavina said about the Elite.
Art dela Cruz had a silent 18 points to lead Blackwater while Pinto and Belo scored 15 and 14 points respectively. Belo added nine rebounds to his tally.
Mahindra knocked down eight triples in the game compared to just three for Blackwater. Moreover, they were able to outrebound the Elite, 57 to 48.
Prior to being called Mahindra Floodbuster, the then-Kia Sorento defeated the same franchise during the opening day of PBA Season 40, 80-66.
“I wish we could play here everyday,” Mahindra’s mentor quipped.
Mahindra looks to build on this win as they face the Meralco Bolts next on Wednesday, January 11. Blackwater hopes they can bounce back from this embarrassing loss when they face the San Miguel Beermen on Friday, January 6. Both games will be played at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Mahindra (97) – Mallari 23, Arana 19, Salva 14, Eriobu 9, Revilla 9, Yee 8, Elorde 6, Nimes 4, Digregorio 3, Escoto 2, Ballesteros 0, Celda 0, Deutchman 0, Webb 0.
Blackwater (93) – Dela Cruz 18, Pinto 15, Belo 14, Sumang 12, Sena 10, Pascual 9, Buenafe 6, Aguilar 3, Banal 2, Cervantes 2, Gamalinda 2, Ababou 0, Forrester 0.
Quarterscores: 18-18, 41-41, 59-66, 83-83, 97-93.
