ANTIPOLO – Blackwater has figured out its import situation with Marqus Blakely staying as the Elite’s import for the rest of the conference.
Blackwater coach Aris Dimaunahan said the Elite have come to a decision as Blakely has essentially kept the job after returning to play against Magnolia on Friday at the Ynares Center. Blakely finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in his return game after replacing Aaron Fuller, who was Backwater's original choice.
“Si Marqus will be our import for the rest of the conference,” said Dimaunahan. “We made the decision already after Aaron Fuller’s game the other time. We weigh things out, we had a meeting, we decided, and we opted to go with Marqus Blakely for the rest of the conference.”
Dimaunahan said Blakely’s performance during the conference as well as Fuller’s foot issues were the deciding factors.
‘Yung last game ni Blakely, he almost had a quadruple double at na-inspire niya mga locals to have great energy the entire game. Secondly, being a coach, I want my players to be healthy all the time. One issue is that with Aaron Fuller. Obviously, he is not a hundred percent healed. He had a fighting heart to play last time with one leg only. We gave him a chance to show his game and after that, we decided with Marqus Blakely.”
Dimaunahan said Blakely and Fuller were well aware of the import situation.
“Both of our imports knew what the situation was. I was open with them. I was transparent with them with their situation and they are both professional enough to understand the situation,” said Dimaunahan.
Dimaunahan is happy that Blakely’s presence led to the Blackwater win, its second in five games.
“Maganda ‘yung energy ng team namin tonight. It fuels our offense. We were playing defense, and it fueled our offense,” said Dimaunahan.
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