Marqus Blakely. PBA IMAGES
Marqus Blakely returned to the Philippines in hunt of another championship with Star, the franchise that he’s played for in the PBA since 2012.
The import, though, had a rule welcome in his first game back as Star absorbed a sorry overtime defeat to Mahindra, 100-92.
“Our main problem is execution on defense,” said Blakely. “We showed in some moments that we can do it and get into a five-minute stretch that we can’t do it.”
“That’s mental, and mentally we should understand that that’s what we need to win.”
The Enforcers shot 47 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the arc while the Hotshots had a pedestrian 39 percent shooting clip and an even worse 33 percent from long distance.
Star had a glaring collapse on the defensive end late in the fourth quarter when the Hotshots over-helped on KG Cañaleta that left Mahindra import James White open for the putback jam that gave the Enforcers an 87-86 lead with 49.9 seconds left.
Blakely managed to salvage one point that put the game to overtime but it was in the extra period that the Enforcers upped the intensity.
Cañaleta found an open spot in the left wing as the forward rose up for a jumper to give the Enforcers a 96-92 lead with 42.4 seconds left in the game.
“We didn’t come out on top but it’s going to take some work and some practice and I feel we’re going to get back to the drawing board,” said Blakely.