It was the best of nights for Mike Di Gregorio, as his 27-point explosion propelled his Blackwater Elite past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 111-99, for their breakthrough victory in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup.
Di Gregorio played like a man on a mission, as he shot an excellent 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Fil-Italian gunslinger also collected five rebounds, four steals, and an assist in the 28 minutes and 43 seconds he played.
And his performance was greatly fueled by – in his own words – the “little things.”
Di Gregorio confessed that he had read a preview of Wednesday night’s game on the league’s official website. And he saw the description for the Elite’s performance in their loss to the NorthPort Batang Pier in their season debut.
They were pathetic in a 91-117 rout by the Batang Pier and continued to struggle in a 94-99 loss to the Bolts, read an excerpt of the advancer, which was posted just a day prior to Blackwater’s clash with Rain or Shine.
“I used little things to motivate me.
“There was an article that I read yesterday… I know probably that the writer means nothing by it, but there was a write-up from PBA.ph previewing our game with Rain or Shine. And it talked about how pathetic Blackwater was,” narrated the McKendree University product.
“The word choice to me felt, like… Alright, I’ll add that log to the fire. Like I said, I’ll try to use anything to motivate me. Always had that chip on my shoulder and I wanted to come out and prove it wrong, like, you got it wrong,” he added.
“We’re not gonna lay down.”
Di Gregorio succeeded. But more than the gratification it brought him, the 27-year-old from Seattle is glad that his Blackwater hae finally broken through in the all-Filipino conference.
He even felt like his team is regaining the form it had in the 2018 Governors’ Cup.
“Slowly. Chemistry is a big thing in basketball and in any team sport. It’s a team sport. You can’t do it by yourself. You need everybody. Our chemistry is building, it’s growing,” said Di Gregorio, who’s been with Blackwater since 2017.
“We’re building.”
