PBA |
By Ivan Saldajeno
SAN JUAN, MM--Blackwater rebuilt a winning streak in the PBA Philippine Cup after beating GlobalPort, 99-91, in a battle of hot squads at the FilOil Flying V Centre on Wednesday night.
It took a dominant third quarter for the Elite to open a huge advantage before holding off a late Batang Pier run to move to solo second in the team standings.
Blackwater opened the second half with back-to-back triples before eventually building a 13-point lead, 82-69, with 10:37 left to play in the final quarter and appeared to be holding on.
GlobalPort had one last push, coming to as close as five, 89-94, but a huge triple from former Batang Pier Roi Sumang with 52.2 seconds left turned out to be the dagger for Blackwater.
Mac Belo led the Elite, who are now at 4-2, a half-game shy of the league-leading San Miguel Beermen, with 20 points, six rebounds, and two steals, while John Pinto added 15 points, four rebounds, six assists, and one steal.
Terrence Romeo came close to a triple-double for the Batang Pier, who slipped to a five-way logjam for third at 3-2.
Box Scores:
Blackwater 99-Belo 20, Pinto 15, Buenafe 11, Dela Cruz 13, Sumang 9, Aguilar 7, Banal 5, Cervantes 5, Forrester 4, Sena 4, Pascual 2, Ababou 2, Miranda 2
GlobalPort 91-Romeo 22, Pringle 14, Quinahan 12, Canaleta 11, Cortez 10, Pessumal 10, Pennisi 5, Mamaril 5, Banal 2, Maierhofer 0, Urbiztondo 0, Paredes 0
Quarterscores: 23-23, 48-47, 77-67, 99-91
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
Blackwater 99-Belo 20, Pinto 15, Buenafe 11, Dela Cruz 13, Sumang 9, Aguilar 7, Banal 5, Cervantes 5, Forrester 4, Sena 4, Pascual 2, Ababou 2, Miranda 2
GlobalPort 91-Romeo 22, Pringle 14, Quinahan 12, Canaleta 11, Cortez 10, Pessumal 10, Pennisi 5, Mamaril 5, Banal 2, Maierhofer 0, Urbiztondo 0, Paredes 0
Quarterscores: 23-23, 48-47, 77-67, 99-91
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno