Nash Racela tells Elite to 'help each other'; bench players respond

Anchored upon a throwback game from KG Canaleta, Blackwater showed how deep its lineup is against NLEX. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--You rarely see the bench players of a Yeng Guiao-coached team getting outworked by those of the other team.

However, it happened on Saturday night when Blackwater's shock troopers provided the spark to pull away from NLEX in their PBA battle at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.

[Related Story: Q3 rally lifts Blackwater over NLEX]

The Elite outscored the Road Warriors, 64-29, in bench points, and the three players with the best plus-minus gauge were from the former's non-starters.

KG Canaleta, turning back time with a vintage performance, was the most efficient for Blackwater with a plus-19, earning him Man of the Match honors.

Coach Nash Racela believes his players answered the call for synergy among themselves.

"We made it really very clear with our players... 'We have to help each other.' I guess today, except for the last five minutes, we got that," Racela said after the game.

While NLEX indeed made some sort of a run in the endgame, the outcome had been already settled then.

Now in fifth place at 2-1 with a Top 4 finish in sight, Racela hopes to carry the momentum the Elite now have.

"That's something that we have to build on moving forward. We would find that consistency that we are trying to search," he further said.

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