ANTIPOLO CITY—Blackwater regained its winning form on Sunday after defeating Rain or Shine, 98-92, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr. had 16 points, the first time he was unable to score 20 or more in a game in his young PBA career. Still, he got a lot of support from his teammates as the Elite improved to 4-1 and bounce back from their first defeat against Phoenix Pulse last Friday.
Heroes were aplenty for the Elite as they had a balanced scoring attack led by Allein Maliksi, who had 19 points in the contest. Alex Stepheson had 13 points and 20 rebounds for the Elite, who pulled away after a huge third-quarter run.
“The challenge today was how well do we focus and bounce back from a loss,” said Blackwater interim coach Aris Dimaunahan. “Tonight, they really played well as a team. ‘Yung gusto naming mangyari, nangyari. They played great defense tonight. We allowed Rain or Shine to score 92 points. Sa mga nauna naming games, we are allowing more than a hundred. Congratulations to all our players.”
Blackwater built a 17-1 run late in the third quarter to grab a 76-58 lead, the biggest in the match, before weathering a late fourth-quarter comeback by Rain or Shine.
Denzel Bowles had 27 points and six rebounds, while James Yap had 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Elastopainters, who remained winless in two games.
The scores:
Blackwater 98 – Maliksi 19, DiGregorio 16, Parks 16, Stepheson 13, Sumang 11, Belo 7, Tratter 4, Banal 3, Al-Hussaini 3, Alolino 2, Sena 2, Desiderio 2, Cortez 0.
Rain or Shine 92 – Bowles 27, Yap 15, Daquioag 10, Borboran 10, Rosales 8, Norwood 7, Torres 5, Belga 5, Mocon 4, Nambatac 1, Ponferada 0.
Quarters: 24-17; 50-40; 76-60; 98-92.
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