MANILA — Blackwater survived a fourth-quarter shutdown by Magnolia to preserve a third-quarter barrage on the way to an 86-84 win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Wednesday night.
Henry Walker scored the go-ahead slam with 3.4 seconds left as the Elite finally broke the win column after a 0-7 start in the conference.
Blackwater came out of its halftime discussion red hot, outscoring Magnolia, 29-13, in the third quarter to take a 69-61 advantage.
However, the Hotshots opened the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run to retake the lead, 73-69. They eventually stretched their lead to five, 82-77, with 3:59 remaining.
The Elite closed out the game on a 9-2 run highlighted by a 6-0 blast in the final 52 seconds capped by Walker’s dunk.
With 8.1 seconds on the clock, Mike DiGregorio inbounded the ball to John Pinto, who quickly found Walker at the top of the key. Walker quickly slashed through the middle and slammed the ball home.
The former NBA veteran, however, missed the bonus free throw off a Mark Barroca, but with no timeout left for the Hotshots, Jio Jalalon had to settle for a long heave from three-quarters of the court that was swatted away by Pinto.
Poy Erram led Blackwater, which stayed alive in the quarterfinal race, with 19 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and one block.
Allein Maliksi came close to his own double-double with 16 markers, nine boards, two assists, and one steal.
Mark Barroca tallied 16 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal off the bench for Magnolia, which fell to 3-3.
The scores:
BLACKWATER 86: Erram 19, Maliksi 16, DiGregorio 11, Walker 11, Sumang 8, Zamar 8, Pinto 6, Al-Hussaini 5, Belo 2, Sena 0, Jose 0, Palma 0.
MAGNOLIA 84: Barroca 16, Simon 12, Kelly 12, Reavis 11, Jalalon 8, Brondial 7, Melton 6, Dela Rosa 5, Lee 3, Herndon 2, Pascual 2, Ramos 0.
Quarterscores: 19-27, 40-48, 69-61, 86-84. (Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA)
