Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
ANTIPOLO—Blackwater doubled down on its hot start to the conference after making mincemeat of NLEX, 132-106, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Saturday at the Ynares Center here.
Rookie Ray Parks Jr. logged a new career-best, scoring with 29 points to lead the Elite’s masterful showing that added to the misery of the leader-less Road Warriors.
“I just have to commend the boys for playing tremendous basketball tonight,” said Blackwater coach Aris Dimaunahan, who now enjoys the view from atop the midseason ladder with a 5-1 record.
Import Alex Stepheson had 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Allein Maliksi tossed in 21 and Mac Belo chipped in 14 off the bench to help the Elite forge a groove going into their next match.
“We wanted to take care of business tonight and we don’t want to stay on Cloud Nine after those four wins that we’ve had,” Dimaunahan said.
“We’ve had a big lead and it goes to show that we’re really having fun playing with each other. I think we’ve got 29 assists today and that is a testament to our players’ effort to look for the open man,” he added.
Import Tony Mitchell scored 27 and collected 11 boards for the Road Warriors, while Veteran Cyrus Baguio and Juami Tiongson had 19 and 15 respectively in the losing effort.
The win primes the Elite for a showdown against powerhouse San Miguel which they face Friday next week at Mall of Asia Arena.
NLEX continued to slide without its head coach Yeng Guiao, who is currently on a cruise vacation. He is expected to rejoin NLEX when it faces Magnolia also on Friday.