Blackwater import Marcus Douthit thwarts a shot by San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines—Blackwater finally broke through in the PBA and will remember this for a very long time. San Miguel Beer, on the other hand, will find this latest black eye very hard to live down.
The Elite survived a turnover-filled endgame Wednesday night to chalk up a maiden victory with an 80-77 upset of the Beermen in the Commissioner’s Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum, turning San Miguel as the very first team—and powerhouse—to lose to the two expansion clubs this season.
“Nakampihan ng swerte, ika nga (Luck was with us),” Blackwater coach Leo Isaac told reporters after he and his Elite snapped a 14-game losing streak dating back to the Philippine Cup, which, interestingly enough, was won by the Beermen in seven games against Alaska.
“This is a moment we can really cherish, especially for the Blackwater franchise,” Isaac said. “We can use this victory to inspire us more, to be more competitive. We thank the Good Lord for allowing us this victory.”
Marcus Douthit scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four blocks and a number of Blackwater locals stepped their games up several notches higher as the Elite climbed out of the cellar with their first win in four games here.
Gilbert Bulawan, Brian Heruela and Bam-Bam Gamalinda hit clutch baskets in the stretch to help doom the Beermen to their third straight defeat. San Miguel’s first loss came at the hands of KIA Motors.
The other San Miguel defeat came at the hands of sister team Barangay Ginebra.
Reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo, also the Philippine Cup’s Best Player, continued to struggle, shooting just five points in 18 minutes. So out of synch was the 6-foot-10 San Miguel cornerstone that he was not on the floor in the stretch.
Blackwater was held to 11 first quarter points and trailed by twin digits early only to catch fire in the third period and take a 60-52 lead into the fourth quarter.
But San Miguel almost erased that deficit in less than the first 1:30 of the fourth.
The scores:
First Game
BLACKWATER 80—Douthit 20, Heruela 11, Faundo 10, Nuyles 8, Gamalinda 7, Bulawan 6, Salvacion 6, Canada 3, Celiz 3, Ballesteros 2, Laure 2, Acuna 2, Timberlake 0, Reyes 0, Erram 0.
SAN MIGUEL 77—Roberts 18, Lutz 16, Santos 11, Tubid 9, Cabagnot 5, Lassiter 5, Fajardo 5, Ross 4, Omolon 2, Fortuna 2, Maierhofer 0, Kramer 0, Reyes 0, Semerad 0.
Quarters: 11-21, 38-44, 60-52, 80-77
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