COLUMBIAN regained its winning form on Friday night, beating Blackwater, 102-90, in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Rashawn McCarthy lit it up for the Dyip, converting seven threes on his way to a game-high 25 points as the Dyip secured their third win in five outings.
CJ Perez and Khapri Alston ably backed up McCarthy as the Dyip sent the Elite reeling to their third loss in four games.
“It was an awesome game,” said Columbian coach Johnedel Cardel. “We started it in the first quarter and we had good defense every quarter. ‘Yun naman ang goal namin. ‘Yung two losses namin, masama depensa namin.”
McCarthy didn't take long to heat up, hitting a trey to start a 15-4 breakaway to give Columbian a 28-15 lead. The lead swelled to its biggest at 15 points on another McCarthy three-pointer, 36-21, in the second quarter.
Again, McCarthy's long bomb with 1:17 left poured cold water on Blackwater's rally, 100-85.
Alston contributed 24 points and 20 rebounds while Perez added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Dyip, who bounced back from a five-point loss to TNT last Saturday.
Aaron Fuller, who replaced Marqus Blakely as Blackwater import, scored 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Ray Parks added 21 points in a losing effort for the Elite.
The scores:
Columbian 102 – McCarthy 25, Perez 24, Alston 24, Celda 12, Tiongson 8, Corpuz 5, Cahilig 2, Gabriel 0, Calvo 0, Flores 0.
Blackwater 90 – Fuller 26, Parks 21, Maliksi 9, Sumang 7, Belo 7, Al-Hussaini 6, Cortez 5, Cruz 5, DiGregorio 3, Javier 1, Dario 0, Desiderio 0.
Quarters: 28-18; 49-42; 77-67; 102-90.
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