ALLEIN Maliksi isn't regretting the forced shot he took late in overtime which almost tilted the favor to Ginebra late.
"Nung sumablay ang tira ko, nakita ko naman last five seconds (sa shot clock) tapos ang matitira na lang is 11 seconds. So ang nasa isip ko na lang, get a stop," he said as Blackwater precariously held to a 108-107 lead.
Japeth Aguilar hauled down the rebound and passed the ball to Justin Brownlee with the clock ticking down. Maliksi took it upon himself to front the super-import, who would later on pass the ball to Scottie Thompson in the corner for the potential winner.
"Nung binababa ni Justin yung bola, nasa isip ko lang kailangan mo mag-focus sa depensa lalo na't sobrang ganda ng nilalaro niya," he shared.
To the relief of the Elite, especially for Maliksi, the shot missed and they escaped with another thrilling overtime win on Friday.
That put Blackwater at the top of the standings early in the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup as it owns an immaculate 2-0 win-loss record.
If this start surprised a lot, that wasn't the case for Maliksi.
"Sa nakikita ko sa preparation nila coach Aris (Dimaunahan), ng mga teammates ko, at ng buong team, nakikita ko na lalaban kami ng dikitan. Meron kaming chance on every team na makalaban namin," said the former UST Growling Tiger, who finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and two steals in the win.
It also helps that the players have a better grasp of their roles under Dimaunahan's system.
"Everybody's doing their role at sumusunod sa gameplan. Ngayon, ang focus namin is to play defense dahil yun ang magdadala sa amin sa dulo. Sa offense, marami sa amin ang kayang umiskor eh. So mag-focus lang sa depensa."
"We play hard on defense and sa offense, go with the flow lang. Yun ang rason kaya hanggang dulo, lumalaban kami."
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