Confirmation game for Blackwater

Blackwater sets out to extend a franchise-best start and win three straight games for the first time in its PBA life, but more importantly, to get confirmation of its newfound status as one of the league’s respected teams.

But coach Leo Isaac doesn’t want any of that to go into his Elite’s heads, wanting them to treat their 4:15 p.m. clash with powerhouse TNT KaTropa and the returning Jason Castro at Smart Araneta Coliseum today “as just one of those games, and nothing out of the ordinary.”

“I don’t want them to veer away from their regular system,” Isaac told the Inquirer over the phone yesterday after preparing for the final time against the Texters, who will welcome back franchise player Castro after a two-game absence.

“But this game is big for the franchise, big for the players,” added Isaac. “There’s a lot at stake for us in this game, including the confirmation that we are one of the better teams in the conference.”

Mac Belo, the rookie out of Far Eastern in the UAAP, is the biggest reason why the Elite have made heads turn in the young conference.

Focus will also be on the return of Castro from a two-game rest, and the formal assumption of Nash Racela as new TNT coach after falling short on Wednesday night in the Final Four of the UAAP when his defending champion Tamaraws were bundled out by Ateneo in overtime.

“It will be a collective effort on the part of us coaches,” Racela said when asked if he will be calling the shots full time against the Elite. “Josh (Reyes, his assistant) has been in charge of preparing the team in my absence, so it will be a collective effort (during the game).”

Meanwhile, GlobalPort seeks a piece of the early lead when the Batang Pier clash with retooled Star in the 7 p.m. contest.

Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle, hands-down the most prolific backcourt tandem the league has seen in recent years, combined for 45 points in their first win.