Zamar lifts Elite past Bolts
Paul Zamar is cocked and loaded.
Typifying the poise and character coach Bong Ramos wants, Zamar boomed in a clutch triple in the dying seconds to lift Blackwater over Meralco 94-91 yesterday and get back on track in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The shot capped Zamar's 10-point performance in the fourth quarter and proved to be the game-winner in a very tight ballgame that featured highs and lows for both teams and eight deadlocks, the last at 91-all, 18.5 ticks left. He wound up with 13 markers in all.
For Ramos, him picking Zamar over Mike Digregorio smacked of Divine Intervention.
"I prayed during the game and I asked the Lord for guidance," related Ramos. "Kaya nahugot ko si Zamar."
Henry Walker's 24 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks led the Elite, who also drew 14 points from Mac Belo and at least 10 points each from Roi Sumang and Allein Maliksi.
All those helped Blackwater buck the absence of starting center JP Erram, who has yet to fully recover from the flu, and the Bolts' 59-45 advantage off the boards, including 24-7 off the offensive glass.
The win, their fifth in six games, also bounced the Elite back from a 106-124 loss to NLEX last Wednesday and gave them a share of the lead with Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia Ang Pambansang Manok.
More pleasing for Ramos is the way his team refused to give up despite falling behind by 10 points going to the last nine minutes of the fourth quarter.
"Come-from-behind again. The character of the team, players developing. I'm hoping we'd continue that," said Ramos. "What's good there is, we bounced back against a great team like Meralco." —