Heads turned and eyes widened when Henry Walker and Nard Pinto had a verbal altercation with 1:50 left in the first quarter of Blackwater Elite’s Governors’ Cup match with San Miguel Beermen, Wednesday evening.
That mini spat came when San Miguel’s gunslinging guard Alex Cabagnot dove hard for the loose ball, while Pinto was left there standing. That, apparently, triggered the commotion between the import and the point guard.
“You’re playing against one of the best point guards in the PBA.
“He can’t get on the floor and you not get on the floor. He’s a champion. You see what I’m saying?,” explained Walker, Blackwater’s unquestioned leader.
That nudge Walker gave seemingly helped Pinto a lot.
The wide-bodied guard flirted with a triple-double, producing 15 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists to have an imprint in the Elite’s monumental upset of the Beermen, 103-100, to hike their win-loss record to 2-0.
“I’m on Nard’s everyday.
“I’m on Nard’s everyday ’cause I see the type of player he can be and that’s it. I don’t want him to come out there and do a disservice to himself and not be at his best,” said the former New York Knicks guard.
“When he’s out there and he’s playing, he’s attacking, he’s aggressive, it’s a whole different team. And you see that tonight. He got Player of the Game. Big game, 15, 9 and 7 I think, right? Everywhere,” added a proud Walker.
Pinto, for his part, played down what happened early in the game.
“Lagi naman niyang ina-ano sa akin, ine-encourage, kasi gusto niya ako i-push. Yun ang sinasabi niya sa akin lagi,” said the Arellano Chief.
“Kahit sa practice araw-araw akong ginaganoon. Araw-araw akong kinukulit, so wala na sa’kin.”
