By Ivan Saldajeno
BAGUIO--Blackwater slayed another giant on Friday night, edging defending PBA Governors' Cup champion Ginebra in overtime, 124-118, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In a battle between the top two teams in the standings entering Friday, the Elite came alive from long range down the stretch as they now solely occupy the number one spot at 4-0 while dealing the Barangay their first loss of the conference after a 3-0 start.
Blackwater's late long range attack began in their final shot in regulation as Mike DiGregorio saved the team with an equalizing trey with eight seconds left to answer Scottie Thompson's go-ahead long bomb that eventually forced overtime.
Ginebra actually had a chance to win it in regulation, but Justin Brownlee's floater rimmed out as time expired.
Brownlee made up for it with a three-point play to start the extra five minutes.
However, triples from Paul Zamar, Henry Walker, and Mac Belo put the Elite up by three, 119-113, with 2:38 to play.
The Barangay still kept the game close as Jeff Chan went all the way for the layup and Brownlee added a free throw to cut the lead to three, 119-116, with 1:26 to go.
But Zamar answered with what would be the dagger trey with 45 seconds left.
Brownlee still tried to salvage Ginebra's cause with a quick jam, but John Pinto found Poy Erram wide open underneath for the easy deuce that insured the win for Blackwater.
Walker only needed 19 shots to make 39 points, and he too had nine assists, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block for the Elite.
Zamar added a PBA career-high 17 points on nine attempts with seven rebounds.
Brownlee finished with a game-high 41 markers with six rebounds, two assists, four steals, and two blocks for the Barangay.
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