Shawn Glover. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Blackwater weathered a late charge by Phoenix and claimed a 108-105 victory that snapped a seven-game skid dating back to the previous conference in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Import Shawn Glover scored 31 points, including some key baskets down the stretch, as the Bossing barged into the win column after dropping their opening assignment against the NLEX Road Warriors last Wednesday.
The Bossing also foiled two three-point attempts by Tyler Tio that would have tied the score in the final 30 seconds, including the game’s final play, and dealt the Fuel Masters a 0-2 start under interim coach Jamike Jarin.
“I challenged the guys to be tougher today,” said Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia. “We treated it as a championship because it’s hard to be down 0-2 and it would be hard to bounce back.”
It was Blackwater’s first win since October 14 when it defeated Terrafirma, 93-86, in the Commissioner’s Cup. The Bossing then lost the final six games of the conference before falling to the Road Warriors to open the season-ending conference.
Baser Amer scored 17 points, rookie Ato Ular had 14 points and 11 rebounds while Yousef Taha posted 10 points and 13 rebounds for Blackwater. Glover also had a double-double by hauling down 13 boards.
Du’vaughn Maxwell tallied 37 points, scoring a portion of those during the Fuel Masters’ repeated rallies in the payoff period. They would take the lead at 98-97 after a Tio putback with 1:40 left.
But Glover scored and Casio made a corner jumper while stepping on the three-point arc as Blackwater increased its margin to 101-98.
The Scores:
BLACKWATER 108 — Glover 31, Amer 17, Ular 14, Taha 10, McCarthy 9, Hill 6, Banal 6, Ayonayon 5, Casio 5, Ilagan 3, DiGregorio 2, Torralba 0, Escoto 0, Suerte 0.
PHOENIX 105 — Maxwell 37, Tio 15, Perkins 13, Alejandro 10, Serrano 9, Soyud 5, Manganti 5, Garcia 5, Jazul 2, Muyang 2, Camacho 2, Go 0.
Quarters: 25-18, 54-45, 79-69, 108-105.