Marqus Blakely stays on as Blackwater for PBA Governors’ Cup

MANILA, Philippines—Marqus Blakely will continue to serve as Blackwater import in the PBA Governors’ Cup after leaving quite a good impression in his first stint with the team in the East Asia Super League in Macau.

In a story on the PBA website, team governor Silliman Sy said the Elite have decided to stick with Blakely for the season-ending conference.

“He blends well with the team, can deliver the points when urgently needed, plus he can make our game faster,” Sy said of Blakely, who was the Best Import in the 2013 Governors’ Cup.

The 30-year-old Blakely initially was just the Elite’s stand-in reinforcement after their first choice Aaron Fuller went down with an ankle injury ahead of the Macau tilt.

Blackwater will be Blakely’s third team in the PBA in his seventh tour of duty in the league after suiting up for the Purefoods franchise five times from 2012 to 2016 before playing for TNT in 2018.

Blakely averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in the Elite’s two games in the Terrific 12 against the Seoul SK Knights and Chiba Jets.

He became one of the more popular imports in the PBA after leading Purefoods to back-to-back Governors’ Cup titles in 2013 and 2014.