1-10 record lights fire under Blackwater in surprise unbeaten start

Blackwater finished at the bottom of the standings the last conference with only one win to show.

And that horrible stint is also what’s fueling the Elite’s surprise start early in the Governors’ Cup.

“That 1-10 is our motivation,” said center JP Erram in Filipino Wednesday night.

Determined to bounce back, the Elite have found themselves atop the standings at 2-0 after pulling off a stunning win over the San Miguel Beermen.

“It’s a big win. We needed to come out with a big win because obviously, the long break,” guard Mike DiGregorio said. “I think we got a two-week break coming up and we didn’t want to go into that break with a sour taste in our mouth.”

Erram, DiGregorio and Nard Pinto led the Elite supporting cast behind import Henry Walker, who erupted for a game-high 35 points that went with 17 rebounds.

Erram almost had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds while DiGregorio scored 21 points built on five 3-pointers.

“As one of the leaders of the team, I try to bring a warrior mentality. We’re competitive guys. Regardless if its San Miguel or Kia or whoever, we wanna win and our competitiveness showed tonight,” DiGregorio said.

“We can’t be scared of the moment. If you’re scared of the moment there’s no point. We showed our composure. We stepped up to the challenge and we had the confidence to take and make big shots.”