Blackwater bucks Big Chill, keeps lead

MANILA, Philippines - Blackwater Sports nearly squandered a 19-point bulge but hung tough in the clutch to hack out an 85-83 decision over Big Chill and retain the lead in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the JCSGO gym in QC yesterday.

Justine Chua and Pari Llagas dished out a pair of double-double efforts but the Elite still had to scramble at endgame to frustrate the Superchargers and post their fourth straight victory and sixth overall against a loss to firm up their bid for an outright semifinal berth.

Big Chill flubbed two potential tying baskets in the closing seconds and took their fourth defeat against three victories.

“Big Chill made a good run in the stretch. Our guys felt the pressure and made some crucial mistakes. But the bottom line is we got the win. Whether it’s one or 10 points, it’s still a win and we’ll take it,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac. 

Chua tallied 17 points and pulled down 13 rebounds while Llagas turned in 16 markers and 10 boards. The duo also keyed a 10-0 run in the opening quarter that allowed Blackwater, owned by Dioceldo Sy, to take control.

Defending champion NLEX also rolled to its fourth straight victory after back-to-back losses as it subdued Cagayan Valley, 85-79, in the second game.

Nico Salva scored 17 points and Ronald Pascual had 14 markers for the Road Warriors, who closed the third quarter with seven straight free throws to take the lead for good, 69-63.

NLEX moved up to fourth place with a 4-2 mark while the Rising Suns dropped to joint eighth with Big Chill at 3-4.

Down 83-85, Big Chill had a chance to force overtime when Blackwater guard Bacon Austria was called for a traveling violation with 19.2 seconds remaining in the contest.

After a timeout, the Superchargers went to Terrence Romeo, who missed on a pull up jumper from 15-feet. Big Chill kept possession but Isaac Holstein also missed an attempt from the left corner as time expired.  

Romeo led all scorers with 24 points. Alex Nuyles had 20 points and Mac Montilla added 18 for Big Chill, which lost two straight.

With Chua and Llagas dominating the paint, Blackwater ruled the boards, 50-39. 

The Elite outscored the Superchargers, 24-15, in the second quarter to stretch their lead to 45-30 at halftime. Big Chill posted the game biggest lead at 51-32 on a lay-up and free throw by Chua early in the third.

But Big Chill struck back behind Nuyles and Mac Montilla as the Superchargers pulled within, 83-85, on Montilla’s lay-up with 32 seconds left.