BLOWN off the court three times in a row, Blackwater suddenly came to life and brought down a heavyweight last night.
The Elite blew control in the third quarter but hung tough in the stretch to clip Barangay Ginebra, 83-77, and win for the first time in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Blackwater held the Gin Kings and the prolific Orlando Johnson without a field goal in the last 1:45 to hack out the upset win in the Petron Saturday Special game at Dipolog Sports Complex 2 with the Elite going 6-of-8 from the stripe inside the final 45 seconds.
Very few expected the victory since the Elite had been routed by an average of 22 points in the first three outings and Ginebra came into the game fresh off a swashbuckling triumph.
But the Elite played a solid game, never losing composure despite blowing a 57-46 third quarter lead to trail several times, the last at 76-75 after two Johnson free throws.
Reil Cervantes, acquired from KIA Motors before the start of the conference, drained a keyhole jumper with 1:25 remaining for 77-76, before Sol Mercado knotted the count for the last time at 77 with a split from the stripe off Marcus Douthit with 64 seconds to go.
That was the last time that Ginebra would score, and Eddie Laure, a son of Dipolog, shoved the Elite ahead to stay after splitting his charities off Mercado, who also had a crucial error later when his inbounds pass to Johnson was stolen by Brian Heruela.
Blackwater rose to 1-3 and is now tied with its victims.
Meanwhile, Globalport seeks a fourth straight win when it clashes with San Miguel Beer today at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Game time is 3 p.m. before the defending champion Star Hotshots (nee Purefoods) and Meralco both try to bounce back from stinging losses at 5:15 p.m.
The scores:
BLACKWATER 83—Douthit 24, Gamalinda 18, Cervantes 14, Laure 7, Acuna 5, Heruela 5, Erram 4, Salvacion 3, Celiz 2, Bulawan 1.
BARANGAY GINEBRA 77—Johnson 30, Tenorio 17, Mercado 10, Brondial 7, Urbiztondo 5, Marcelo 4, Sanchir 2, Helterbrand 2, Caguioa 0, Pena 0, Baracael 0, Monfort 0.
Quarters: 16-21, 37-36, 62-60, 83-77.