ANTIPOLO – Shawn Glover scored 31 points including a key jumper to lift Blackwater to its first win, defeating Phoenix Super LPG, 108-105, on Friday in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center.
Blackwater vs Phoenix recap
Glover nailed a jumper with 1:14 left in the fourth to help the Bossing regain the lead to eventually avoid a collapse after going up by as many as 12 points.
JVee Casio also came through in the clutch as Blackwater survived a rally by Phoenix to even its record to 1-1.
The Fuel Masters still had one chance to tie the game but Tyler Tio missed a three-pointer in the final possession.
Incidentally, Tio made a putback to cap a 6-0 blitz that enabled Phoenix to grab a 98-97 advantage, the first and only lead of the game for the Fuel Masters, but that proved to be short-lived after that Glover shot.
Casio only had five points but also had one of the biggest baskets of the game, hitting a corner two to beat the shotclock with 43.1 seconds left, giving Blackwater some breathing space.
The win also ended a seven-game losing streak dating back to the Commissioner’s Cup.
Glover also had 13 rebounds to spoil the performance of Phoenix import Du’Vaughn Maxwell, who had 37 points and 17 rebounds.
“We treated this as a championship game because it’s hard to go down 0-2. Sunod sunod na mga games, mahirap na makabawi,” said Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia.
Baser Amer had 17 points and Ato Ular had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Yousef Taha had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Blackwater, which had an early 34-22 lead in the game.
Tio finished with 15 points but Phoenix, under interim coach Jamike Jaron, is still winless after two matches.
The scores:
Blackwater 108 – Glover 31, Amer 17, Ular 14, Taha 10, McCarthy 9, Hill 6, Banal 6, Casio 5, Ayonayon 5, Ilagan 3, DiGregorio 2, Suerte 0, Escoto 0, Torralba 0.
Phoenix Super LPG 105 – Maxwell 37, Tio 15, Perkins 13, Alejandro 10, Serrano 9, Manganti 5, Garcia 5, Soyud 5, Muyang 2, Jazul 2, Camacho 2, Go 0.
Quarters: 25-18; 54-45; 79-69; 108-105.