Blackwater ends skid, sends NLEX to 3rd straight loss

Blackwater Elite vs NLEX Road Warriors. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Blackwater stopped its skid while and compounded NLEX’s woes with a 96-85 win Wednesday in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Elite took advantage of the Road Warriors injuries with key guys like Asi Taulava, Garvo Lanete, and Enrico Villanueva out of commission.

“We had to get back to our senses and go back to our basics, which is to play hard basketball. Fortunately, this situation was given to Blackwater and we needed this win to propel us back to our winning ways,” said coach Leo Isaac.

Blackwater ended a two-game losing slide and improved to 3-2, while sending NLEX to its third straight defeat at 1-3.

Art dela Cruz topped the Elite with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Pascual fired 10 of his 16 markers in the fourth, alongside five boards.

Ronjay Buenafe also went 3-of-9 from three to finish with 13 points, five dimes, and four rebounds, and James Sena got 11 markers in the win.

Dela Cruz and Mac Belo did the damage for Blackwater in the third, turning a close 55-51 lead to a 71-57 advantage to take control of the game before Pascual staved off the NLEX fightback in the payoff period.

Carlo Lastimosa poured 23 points against his former team, but was ejected after incurring a flagrant and a technical foul with 2:35 left in the game.

Mac Baracael also had 16 for the Road Warriors in the loss.

Read more: https://pba.inquirer.net/79878/blackwater-ends-skid-sends-nlex-3rd-straight-loss#ixzz4So8lCTjJ
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