Breaking new ground
Blackwater proving Elite status with 4th victory; Phoenix finds Wright solution to snap brutal slide
Mac Belo scored 20 points and Blackwater held off GlobalPort, 99-91, for a monumental fourth win in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Hoping that this is the conference where they break new ground, the much-improved Elite hiked their record to 4-2, climbing into second place in the standings behind the San Miguel Beermen.
“Like what I’ve said, we wanted this victory we want to give ourselves a chance to experience being No. 2 in the stand- ings and wewant to have a good Christmas this year,” said Blackwater head coach Leo Isaac. “We want to win over Global and prep ourselves for another win over Mahindra on Sunday.”
“In our three years in the PBA, we have never been in this situation that we’re at No. 2 midway through the elimination round and we will really cherish this and continue working hard to get to where we want to be this conference.”
Nard Pinto added 15 points and six assists while Roi Sumang chipped in nine, including a dagger three that pegged the count at 97-89, with 52.2 seconds left.
Terrence Romeo flirted with a triple-double, collecting 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, but shot just 6-of-21 from the field.
He also cooled off in the second half after pouring in 16 points in the first two quarters.
GlobalPort’s other star guard Stanley Pringle got ejected late un the third quarter after picking up his second flagrant foul 1.
In the first game, rookie Matthew Wright found his touch late and Phoenix came back to beat Meralco, 94-90.
Wright fired 17 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, where the shorthanded Fuel Masters rallied to victory. “I’m just relieved.
We lost the last two games by an average of 31 points. It was like sleepless nights for all of us,” said Phoenix head coach Ariel Vanguardia, whose squad improved to 3-3.
The Fuel Masters played without veterans in JC Intal and Willie Wilson.
The Bolts, who led by as many as 12, 71-59, slipped to 2-3 despite a career-high 24 points from rookie Jonathan Grey.
Wright, the Filipino-Canadian swingman who was part of the Gilas cadet program, scored 10 points inside the last four minutes, including Phoenix’s last three points in the final 30 seconds.
Meanwhile, the PBA an- nounced pickup and drop-off points for those who plan to watch the Christmas Day game at Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Those who want to avail of the ride must queue early at Jam Bus Terminals in Gil Puyat Avenue (starting 11 a.m.) and EdsaKamuning (starting at noon). Buses will transport ticket holders to and from the Philippine Arena on a first-come, firstserved basis.
Only fans who have been stamped at the pickup points will be able to avail of the ride back to Manila.
The Christmas Day doubleheader will feature Mahindra taking on Blackwater in the first game and crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra taking on Star in the main game.