ROOKIE guard Brian Heruela played one of the best games of his PBA career on Tuesday night but was left to rue a bad decision he made late in a 76-83 Blackwater double-overtime loss to KIA Carnival.
The wide-bodied playmaker led the Elite with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists but cost Blackwater a chance to get a good shot at a game-winning basket with the score tied at 72-all late in regulation.
Instead of calling a timeout, Herulela went coast to coast for a drive against a phalanx of Blackwater defenders. He was left with no choice but to put up a desperation shot that didn't come close to going in.
“It was on my part for not making a good decision because I thought I had an open lane but unfortunately, I made a bad decision and didn’t call a timeout,” rued the 26-year-old Heruela.
However, the former college teammate of San Miguel big man June Mar Fajardo said he can't afford to sulk, adding he simply has to learn from the experience.
“I gotta learn. All I can do now is move on, use this experience, and hopefully, soon enough, next game I gotta learn quicker to be able to lead my team and deliver,” he added.
[See KIA outlasts Blackwater in low-scoring, double-overtime thriller]
Heruela said he’s happy to see the Elite fight through adversity in their last two games, which was in complete contrast to their first three matches this conference where they were blown away by an average of 21 points.
Blackwater’s only win so far was a 83-77 victory over Barangay Ginebra in Dipolog City last week.
“We played with a little more effort now, but we still have to learn how to close out games especially like this game,” he said. “We’re still learning, but we have to keep maturing as a team, and I hope as soon as possible, we learn to close out games now.
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