PBA: Kia outlasts Blackwater in 2OT

Hamady N’Diaye -KIA [dark] vs Marcus Douthit-Blackwater [light]. PBA IMAGES

Kia outduelled Blackwater in double overtime, 83-76, to grab a share of second place in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup Tuesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Imports Jet Chang and Hamady N’Diaye led the way for the Carnival, who improved to 3-1 tying the idle Alaska Aces.

Chang, the do-it-all Taiwanese reinforcement, scored a game-high 25 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, while the former NBA reserve N’Diaye was a demon in the shaded area on both ends — finishing with a near triple-double with 16 points, 23 rebounds and nine blocks in almost 54 minutes of action.

“It’s a very hard game. I think Blackwater played very, very well,” said Kia’s lead assistant Chito Victolero. “It’s about the effort, the willingness to win. In the second overtime, I told them it’s not about the x and o but about their hearts and minds.”

Both imports fittingly coincided on a backbreaking play with Chang dishing to N’Diaye for the thunderous two-handed dunk that extended the Carnival’s lead to three, 79-76, with 1:35 remaining.

“I’m very proud of my players. Even if they are very tired and some appeared to be cramping up, they really wanted to win this game,” Victolero added.

Brian Heruela extended the game to overtime for Blackwater after blowing past  Chang for the baseline layup with 19.5 seconds left.

Heruela paced the Elite with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field that went with three rebounds and three assists.

After a duel in the closing minutes of regulation, both teams couldn’t buy a basket in the first OT. The two expansion squads went scoreless with still over four minutes remaining in the extra period.

The last basket of the first OT came at the 4:16 mark with Heruela tying the game at 74.

Marcus Douthit added 16 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks for Blackwater, which slipped to 1-4.

Kia recorded a franchise-best 70 rebounds in a game that saw both teams shot below 35% from the field. CC

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