MANILA, Philippines - The Blackwater Elite’s young crew stood their ground when going got tough and blasted the Alaska Milk Aces off their feet in a pressing, attacking game for a 103-100 win to inch closer to the playoff round of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Mac Belo, Roi Sumang and Raymond Aguilar all played tough under tremendous pressure while veteran playmaker Denok Miranda knocked in two important charities in the last four seconds as the Elite claimed their biggest upset win thus far and, in the process, boosted their bid for a second straight Philippine Cup quarters entry.
Blackwater, in chase of only a second playoff appearance since joining the league in 2014, closed in on joint second placers Rain or Shine (5-3) and GlobalPort (5-3) with a fifth win against four losses.
For the record, the Elite chalked up only four wins the entire season last year and seven in the 2014-15 campaign.
“We withstood Alaska and I saw good reason why we should believe the capability of our young players,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.
“Except for Mac Belo, all our other players were not big stars with their collegiate teams. I wanted to test them in the crunch, and I think they proved their worth tonight,” Isaac added.
Belo scored a team-high 21 points while Sumang, Aguilar, Ronjay Buenafe and Arthur dela Cruz contributed at least 10 markers each as they bucked Alaska’s relentless pressure defense and handed the Aces a fourth loss against four wins.
Sumang and Aguilar both stepped up in the payoff period, leading the way for the Elite as they opened a 14-point lead at 92-78 then fended off the Aces’ endgame siege.
The Aces, minus Chris Banchero who’s sidelined by a fractured hand, actually had a chance to tie at the finish but failed to work on a good throw-in in their last possession with Calvin Abueva missing a difficult three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Jvee Casio caught fire midway through the fourth quarter, stringing up eight straight points to spark an Alaska rally that had the Aces coming to within one at 100-101 with 5.6 seconds left.
But a pair of charities by Miranda on a quick foul by the Aces made it 103-100 with 4.0 seconds to go.
Then the Elite defended well against the Alaska three-point shooters, forcing the Aces to go to Abueva inside the paint. Abueva dribbled his way to the three-point area but could only launch a desperation heave that went short.
“We prepared hard for them. We’re convinced if we’re to beat Alaska, we must play with the same energy or more energy than they’ve got,” said Isaac.
“Anybody who relaxed, we sent out of the game and told them to wait for their turn to return,” Isaac added.
The Elite did play with great energy and intensity, beating the Aces on hustle plays. Curiously, they limited themselves to only 21 turnovers as against the Aces’ 26.
Blackwater, which scored earlier wins over Phoenix, Meralco, NLEX and GlobalPort, tries to formalize its quarters entry in its last two games against Barangay Ginebra and Star.
Later in the night, the Star Hotshots focused on playing tough defense to check a two-game slide, subduing the TNT KaTropa Texters, 88-77, to create a heavy five-way logjam at fifth place at 4-4.
“The mindset was our defense versus their offense. The goal was to hold them below 90, and we’re able to limit them below 80. I’m making special mention of our guards for their defensive effort on Jason Castro,” said Star coach Chito Victolero following their win that forged a tie at fifth among the Hotshots, the Texters, the Aces, the Ginebra Kings and the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
The scores:
First Game
BLACKWATER 103 – Belo 21, Sumang 19, Buenafe 16, Dela Cruz 13, Aguilar 10, Sena 8, Cervantes 6, Miranda 4, Pinto 4, Ababou 2, Pascual 0, Gamalinda 0, Banal 0.
ALASKA 100 – Abueva 23, Casio 23, Manuel 13, Racal 9, Mendoza 7, Hontiveros 6, Exciminiano 6, Jazul 4, Cruz 4, Thoss 2, Pascual 2, Dela Cruz 1.
Quarterscores: 22-28, 45-49, 76-71, 103-100.
Second Game
STAR 88 – Sangalang 14, Maliksi 13, Ramos 13, Lee 10, Jalalon 9, Barroca 8, Pingris 7, Reavis 5, Dela Rosa 4, Melton 3, Simon 2, Brondial 0.
TNT 77 – De Ocampo 21, Castro 16, Pogoy 7, Rosario 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 6, Tautuaa 6, Williams 4, Rosales 4, Fonacier 3, Reyes 3, Carey 0, Golla 0.
Quarterscores: 20-12, 56-39, 73-62, 88-77.