ITS confidence high and rising, Blackwater came through in the clutch and dug deep to escape with a difficult 111-106 double-overtime over lowly Alaska for its third straight win as the Elite continued its ascent in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City yesterday.
Henry Walker poured it on, scattering a monster 30-30 game with highs of 35 points and 32 rebounds to spearhead the Elite’s attack throughout.
In a game where it seemed no team was willing to give up, Blackwater made the most crucial plays when it mattered.
Mike DiGregorio sank the go-ahead triple from the left elbow to give the Elite a 107-106 edge with a little over a minute left in the second overtime period.
Blackwater then made key stops before Roi Sumang made two free throws to extend the team’s lead to 109-106 with 6.5 seconds left.
Still with a chance to send the game to yet another extension, Alaska went to Chris Banchero, but his potential-tying triple was off the mark as the clock ticked away.
Walker sealed the final scored with two more free throws just before time expired.
Blackwater, which is still unbeaten since acquiring Walker, improved to 3-3 after losing its first three assignments.
The nightmare continued for Alaska.
DI Gregorio finished with 17 points to help the Elite.
Bam Gamalinda was solid as well for Blackwater, tallying an efficient double-double production of 15 points and 11 rebounds on an incredible 5-of-8 clip from the field.
The Aces, who are still winless since April and have now lost 13 in a row dating back to the Commissioner’s Cup, continued their dry spell as they fell to 0-5 near the bottom, their chances of making the next round slowly slipping away.
LaDontae Henton led them with a team-high 31 points but Alaska, just like in its previous losses, once again failed to deliver in the clutch.
The Alaska import forced the second extension with a jumper while it was Simon Enciso who initially sent the game into the first overtime period with a runner.
The scores:
BLACKWATER 111—Walker 35, DiGregorio 17, Gamalinda 15, Erram 13, Canaleta 9, Cruz 8, Pinto 6, Sumang 4, Sena 2, Miranda 2, Aguilar 0, K. Pascual 0.
ALASKA 106—Henton 31, Casio 25, Enciso 11, Banchero 10, Thoss 10, Manuel 6, Baclao 6, Galliguez 3, Exciminiano 2, Mendoza 2, Hontiveros 0, Racal 0.
Quarterscores: 25-13, 44-40, 68-60, 91-91, 97-97, 111-106.