MAC Belo just had to pull a cat out of his bag with Blackwater in a tight affair against Meralco in overtime on Wednesday.
Grabbing the offensive board off of an Allein Maliksi miss, the 26-year-old forward faked a pass down low and went for an undergoal stab, catching the Bolts' Gani Lawal and Ranidel de Ocampo by surprise to put the Elite up, 91-89 with 30.4 seconds remaining.
It was a familiar sight for college basketball observers, and Belo did admit that he learned it from a former teammate.
"Kay Arvie," he said with a sheepish smile, alluding to bruiser Arvie Bringas who's made himself known for those ball-fakes. "Galing sa FEU yun eh. Tapos pagdating ko sa Blackwater, si Nards naman ang gumagawa. So ginaya ko na lang."
That turned out to be the go-ahead basket as Blackwater pulled off a 94-91 victory over Meralco to start its 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup campaign on a high.
Belo only finished with six points - on four attempts - and eight rebounds, but his presence was truly felt on the floor as the Elite were a plus-15 with him on the court.
Though his numbers weren't as gaudy as those of his teammates like gunner Mike DiGregorio or rookie Bobby Ray Parks, the Midsayap, Noth Cotabato native is just embracing the role given to him by coach Aris Dimaunahan.
"Ginagampanan ko lang ang role ko as a team player. Kung ano ang kailangan ng team, sinusunod ko lang sila coach. Alam naman namin na marami kaming scorer, may import pa kami at other guys are ready to shoot. So akin lang, gawin ko lang yung part ko para makatulong sa team," he said.
Belo is also taking this opening day win as a good sign for the Elite, especially coming off of a forgettable Philippine Cup run where they finished dead-last.
"Good start sa amin ito," he said. "Malaking tulong ang pagdating ni Ray tapos ngayong Commissioner's Cup, may import pa kami na subok na. So hopefully, malayo pa ang marating ng team namin. Nagwo-work naman kami as a team at pinapatunayan namin na kaya naming mag-compete."
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