Games Tomorrow (Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City)
10 a.m. – Jumbo Plastic vs Wangs Basketball
12 p.m. – Arellano-Air21 vs Derulo Accelero
2 p.m. – Hog’s Breath vs NLEX
Blackwater Sports relied on its second stringers during a huge second quarter outburst to subdue Zambales M-Builders, 91-69, in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup yesterday at the Blue Eagle gym.
Jericho Cruz, Jed Manguera and Paulo Pe combined for 18 points in the second quarter as the Elite outscored the Builders, 27-8, to turn a slim 17-14 lead into a commanding 44-22 halftime advantage thanks to their fluid offense which saw them make 12-of-18 shots.
Their defense was also as good as their offensive attack as they limited the Builders to just 3-of-17 shooting and forced seven turnovers.
Cruz, who will play for the national team in next month’s Myanmar Southeast Asian Games, finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. University of Santo Tomas star Kevin Ferrer topscored with 17 points as Blackwater tied idle Jumbo Plastic for fifth place at 4-1.
“We want to continue on practicing good habits, maski nakita namin na ganun yung laban ayaw namin maging relax at ayaw namin masanay sa klase ng basketball na wala kaming matutunan. So we continue to push harder and harder to try and elevate our game to the next level,” Blackwater Sports coach Leo Isaac said.
The win came as the Elite enters the tough stretch of their schedule where they will face Cagayan Valley, NLEX, Jumbo Plastic and Hog’s Breath Café – four of the top teams in the league. (Christian Jacinto)