Barako Bull bolsters playoff bid, boots out Blackwater

RR Garcia of Barako (dark) vs Robbie Celiz of Blackwater (dark). NUKI SABIO/PBA

RIZAL, Philippines — Barako Bull held Blackwater to just 30 points in the first half as the Energy cruised to a wire-to-wire 97-82 win in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Sophomore guards RR Garcia and Carlo Lastimosa had 16 points apiece with the former UAAP MVP scoring all of his output through three quarters.

“I thought we did a good job defensively. We started strong and we limited them to [30 points] in the first half,” said Barako Bull head coach Koy Banal. “The way we started and the energy that the guys brought in made the difference in this game.”

The Energy moved closer to clinching a playoff spot with a 3-6 record while also pulling the plug on the Elite, who officially dropped out of quarterfinals contention after absorbing their ninth loss in as many games.

“I hope we can use this as a spirngboard going into our next two games against NLEX and Purefoods,” said Banal.

Barako Bull limited Blackwater to just nine points in the first quarter and only 27% shooting from the field in the first half.

The Energy also sustained their hot shooting. They shot 57% overall after a 50% shooting clip in the first two quarters.

Bryan Faundo and Brian Heruela scored career-highs with 23 and 19 points, respectively for Blackwater.

Heruela, the stocky guard, had 14 points in the fourth quarter that made the game a little bit respectable.

Barako Bull, which has now won three of its last four games, led by as much as 26, 70-44, late in the third quarter.

Rookie Jake Pascual added 13 points for the Energy.