KENTRELL Barkley rescued Blackwater in the endgame as the Bossing held on for an 89-81 win over Magnolia on Friday to stay unbeaten in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Barkley buried crucial shots to help the Bossing regain their bearings after giving up an 11-point lead and trailing the Hotshots, 81-79, with still four minutes to play.
COLUMN: Kept intact, Blackwater's core shows what it's capable of
Barkley scored eight of his team-high 26 points in a 10-0 Blackwater finish kick that preserved the Bossing's second straight win - good for a share of first place in Group B with Phoenix.
The Hotshots fell to 0-2.
Barkley had 26 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks for the Bossing after recording a triple double in his debut in a Blackwater win over Rain or Shine. RK Ilagan also had a big outing, contributing 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting.
Ilagan nailed two free throws during that Blackwater finish with 1:48 left to give his team an 85-81.
Barkley threw down a dunk with 32.8 seconds left in the contest to put an exclamation point to the victory.
“Just happy that our players stepped up like RK again,” Blackwater coach Pat Aquino said. “I know some players had a slow output but at the end, they didn’t give up. They still played hard.
“Credit to Magnolia. they had their game plan. I wish that ganito parati. Lagi kaming todo at playing with pride and honor,” Aquino added.
KJ Buffen led Magnolia’s comeback and finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds for the Hotshots but they remained winless in two games.
The scores:
Blackwater 89 – Barkley 26, Ilagan 20, Panopio 12, Barefield 10, Austria 5, Demusis 4, Tratter 4, Una 4, Murrell 2, David 2, Cruz-Dumont 0.
Magnolia 81 – Buffen 32, Lastimosa 11, Sangalang 10, Lucero 8, Barroca 6, Jopia 6, Koon 2, Gomez de Liano 2, Dela Rosa 2, Alfaro 2, Lee 0, Andrada 0.
Quarters: 19-20; 44-38; 65-62; 89-81.
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