Blackwater proved once more that it can be a giant killer after shocking San Miguel, 103-100, for its second straight win in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup.
The Elite, undefeated at 2-0, beat perennial power TNT in their first game before slaying the league’s winningest franchise on Wednesday.
San Miguel, which has 25 titles, also fell prey to the Elite in the 2o18 Philippine Cup, 106-96, in a game that saw the Beermen flaunt a complete lineup.
Blackwater used a strong surge in the fourth quarter and outscored the Beermen 29-18 in the last 12 minutes with 10 of those points all due to Henry Walker’s doing.
“The game plan was to play defense, and if we can play defense at the end of the game, stay close, then we can salvage an upset,” said Blackwater head coach Bong Ramos. “This was a big upset tonight.”
Walker converted on a three-point play to put Blackwater up 101-95 with 2:33 left in the game and all the Elite had to do at that point was to hang on for dear life.
Marcio Lassiter was able to trim Blackwater’s lead to one, 101-100, after a three-pointer with 34.6 seconds left but Christian Standhardinger was called with a pushing foul a few ticks later that sent Poy Erram to the line.
Erram hit his two free throws with 19.8 seconds left for the game’s final score line but that still left plenty of time for the Beermen to force overtime.
Fortunately for the Elite, AZ Reid missed his three-pointer attempt and so did Arwind Santos as time expired on the Beermen.
Reigning four-time MVP June Mar Fajardo is still out of San Miguel’s lineup due to a fractured right shin.
Walker finished with 35 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, and seven steals for the Elite while Mike Digregorio had 21 points.
AZ Reid led the Beermen with 26 points and 12 boards while Standhardinger added 20 points and five boards.
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