Juneric Baloria. PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — Juneric Baloria was worth the wait.
Baloria, the Perpetual Help gunner, unloaded 22 points in his debut with Big Chill as the Superchargers beat Blackwater Sports Elite, 90-83, in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup Monday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
“What can I say, he (Baloria) played awesome,” said Big Chill coach Robert Sison. “I also thought the whole team played solid. We were focused the whole game.”
The game saw 11 deadlocks and 11 lead changes before Big Chill put the game away in the fourth quarter thanks to a 13-0 run.
Apart from Baloria, Janus Lozada, one of the heroes in the uperchargers’ last-second comeback win over NU-BDO last week, starred anew with 15 points — nailing three-pointer after three-pointer during the pivotal tear.
Blackwater went cold in the fourth period — going scoreless in a six-minute span — as Big Chill pulled ahead, 86-72, with 2:51 left.
“[Blackwater] is a solid team. Their confidence is high coming off a championship and for us to win we have to really work hard, outplay them and play good defense. I thought we did what we have to do.” Sison added as his team improved to 3-0.
Kevin Ferrer and Allan Mangahas scored 17 points apiece for the Elite, who dropped their first game after winning the first two.