IMPORT Marqus Blakely on Wednesday accepted the blame for allowing Rain or Shine to escape with a 79-75 come-from-behind victory against San Mig Coffee at the start of the PBA Governors Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The 6-foot-5 Blakely had a 20-20 performance for the Mixers after punching in 26 points and 20 rebounds, but admitted his woeful 6-of-19 shooting from the foul line contributed to the Mixers’ downfall.
“Everybody’s tired and everybody tried to play hard, but that’s (being tired) not an excuse. So me, being the leader on the team and trying to show that, first thing I have to do is make my foul shots,” Blakely told Spin.ph after emerging from the team’s dugout.
“If I made half of that like six or seven free throws … well, I take all the blame, most of the blame and all of the blame, which I should, because the foul line is where games are won.”
During one stretch of the third period, the high-flying import missed six straight foul shots to the dismay of San Mig coach Tim Cone.
And while the Mixers managed to take a 69-60 lead with under seven-and-a-half minutes to play, the team's offense kept firing blanks from there and let and win slip away.
“We just have to figure out how to bounce back and especially play well on the defensive end,” added the 24-year-old Vermont University product.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph