Blackwater faces Alaska
Elite gun for 3rd win in four games; Bolts, Hotshots both eye rebound
Games Today
(AUF Gym powered by Smart 5G) 4 p.m. — Magnolia (1-2) vs Meralco (1-2) 6:45 p.m. — Blackwater (2-1) vs Alaska (1-2)
Blackwater hopes to continue an impressive start under new coach Nash Racela when it goes up against Alaska tonight in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
The Elite, who have a knack for unleashing an offensive outburst in the third quarter, shoot for their third win in four games in the 6:45 p.m. match opposite an Aces side which is coming off a hard-fought win over the Magnolia Hotshots.
Magnolia tries to bounce back in the 4 p.m. tussle with Meralco, which is likewise out to redeem itself from a disappointing loss to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel two nights earlier.
Racela has been praised for the way he has enabled the Elite to start off the bubble on the right track, especially with the third quarter onslaughts that saw his team average 35.0 points.
Last Saturday, Blackwater made 35 points in the third to pull away from NLEX enroute to a 98-88 victory.
But Racela can’t be too content with his team’s performance, especially against an Alaska team that beat Magnolia 87-81 also last Saturday.
“It will be tough playing them, especially coming off their first win,” Racela said, as quoted by PBA.ph.
Meanwhile, the PBA bubble remained free of COVID-19 as all 12 teams tested negative following the second round of swabs conducted last week.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said around 270 players and team staff members underwent RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) testing administered by the Clark Development Corporation for the second time.
“I already talked to president Vince (Dizon of Bases Conversion and Development Authority) and I informed him that all teams are already negative from the testing,” said Marcial. (With a report from Jeremiah Sevilla)