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Blackwater got back on track after holding off Rain or Shine, 98-92, in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Elite were steady at the free throw line, hitting 10 of their 12 attempts in the final one minute and 29 seconds to keep the Elasto Painters at bay.
Allein Maliksi had a team-high 19 points off the bench to lead Blackwater while prized rookie Ray Parks and Mike DiGregorio scored 16 points each.
Alex Stepheson added a double-double with 13 points and 20 rebounds for the Elite, who bounced back from a 103-98 loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters two nights ago to rise to 4-1.
“The challenge today was really how well can we focus and how well can we bounce back from a loss,” said Blackwater coach Aris Dimaunahan.
“They played really, really well tonight as a team. We did what we wanted to do, we played great defense,” added Dimaunahan, whose squad led by as much as 16 and held Rain or Shine to just 35 percent from the field.
Blackwater led, 82-67, with 8:23 left before Rain or Shine threatened and pulled within seven, 88-81, after a layup by Gabe Norwood with still 1:49 remaining.
Fortunately for the Elite, Parks and DiGregorio made all of their free throw attempts down the stretch to counter the Painters’ comeback attempt.
Denzel Bowles led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-19 from the field