Elite gear up vs Road Warriors
THE Blackwater Elite are keen to get back to the winning track when they face the winless NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA Season 45 Philippine Cup in the 4 p.m. first game at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga today, Oct. 17, 2020.
The Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok battle the Alaska Aces in the 6:45 p.m. main game.
The Elite are hoping to redeem themselves from their loss to the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings on Thursday night. Blackwater put up a valiant fight against the Gin Kings only to fall short in the end game, 103-99.
Don Trollano, Mac Belo and Roy Sumang scored in double figures with 23, 16 and 14, respectively.
Elite coach Nash Racela was happy with his wards’ performance in the first two games.
“What the team needs now is more confidence and belief in what they could do,” said Racela in a news conference on Friday afternoon.
“Surprisingly, there’s the fluidity with our movements. The team is sharing the ball. Defensively we’re very active. We kept on emphasizing that we need to do these since it’s the only way we get a chance in this conference,” said the new Elite mentor.
Racela added he saw something promising among the core players, and he’s hoping it will grow as the season progresses inside the PBA bubble in Pampanga.
“When you play a powerhouse team like Ginebra, anggustomolang (what you want is) put yourself in possession in the end game. We actually had a good chance. That’s positive and very promising,” he said.
Blackwater won their first game against the NorthPort Batang Pier before losing to Ginebra.
The Road Warriors, on the other hand, are in a must-win situation for them to avoid a 0-3 predicament. NLEX will be counting on Kiefer Ravena, JR Quinahan, Jericho Cruz, Anthony Semerad and Kevin Alas.
In the other game, the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok will face the winless Alaska Aces. Magnolia aims for its second consecutive win following a thrilling victory over the Road Warriors last Wednesday.
Paul Lee was the hero for the Hotshots as he converted a four-point play with 32.5 seconds to play, giving his side a 101-100 lead. Mark Barroca converted two free throws to seal the win.
The Aces are struggling after losses to the TNT Tropang Giga and the Meralco Bolts.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters posted their second win in as many games against Northport, 110-105, on Thursday night to take a share of the leaderboard with the Tropang Giga and the Gin Kings.