Blackwater Elite hope Maurice Shaw gamble pays off

Blackwater draft pick Maurice Shaw. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Blackwater has been either on the fringes of the standings or a legitimate threat to the usual powers so far in its stint in the PBA.

The Elite ended dead last in both the Philippine and Governors’ Cup with overall 4-18 record then rose to third with a 7-4 card in the season-ending Cup behind the efforts of Bobby Ray Parks Jr. and import Alex Stepheson.

Parks has since been shipped to TNT and the 6-foot-10 Stepheson can only play for one conference at a time but the Elite hope their “gamble” of selecting 6-foot-9 center Maurice Shaw with the second overall pick in 2019 Draft pays off.

Blackwater head coach Nash Racela, who is returning to the league after a year, said taking the 35-year-old Shaw was their next logical step in improving a team that usually relied on its guards and wings for production.

“Of course there’s still a lot of things lacking but this is our next bold step, basically we gambled on taking a big guy but this is not a guarantee [for immediate success],” said Racela in Filipino Friday. “We’re a guard-based team and we always lack the size.”

Shaw is expected to be the focal point in the post for Blackwater now that Parks is gone while forwards Mac Belo and Niño Canaleta, who combined for an average 25 points a game in the third conference, provide ample support from the wing.

“That’s the gamble we were willing to take and we took into consideration his age but then again when we selected we’re hoping that he could change the dynamic of the team.”