Elite derail Warriors, snare 1st D-L crown

MANILA, Philippines - Blackwater Sports finally ended NLEX’s two-year reign in the PBA D-League, battling back from 18 points in the third quarter and hacking out an 80-74 victory to crown itself the new Foundation Cup champion at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City yesterday.

Buried under the avalanche of NLEX baskets, 40-58, early in the third, the gutsy Elite clawed their way back by outgunning and outplaying the Road Warriors, 20-4, then outdueled the defending champions in the stretch to clinch the victory and the best-of-three series, 2-0.

Robby Celiz fired 11 of his game-high 20 points in the pivotal third to key Blackwater’s searing fightback and his putback off a miss by Allan Mangahas in the closing seconds made it 76-72 that all but wrapped up the championship.

“It feels good. We have proven that any team can achieve this. Teamwork can win championships. Just believe in your players, instill discipline and believe in the system,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

What made the title romp sweeter was that the Dioceldo Sy-owned team did it on their very first try against a team that swept the first four championships in the fledgling league.

The Elite, who surprised the Road Warriors, 70-67, in the series’ opener last Thursday, fell behind at 40-58 with 8:37 in the third period as NLEX appeared headed for a sudden death.

“I told the players we can’t get back into the game if we lose our composure. I urged them to hang on. I thought they showed tremendous determination during that challenging stretch,” said Isaac.

Justine Chua, out to prove something, scored 17 points, Mangahas tallied 13 markers and 12 rebounds and Kevin Ferrer and Narciso Llagas chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Elite, who outscored the Road Warriors, 42-22 in the second half.

“Justine was determined to prove a point. He was just a second fiddle to Nico (Salva) and Greg (Slaughter) at Ateneo and he felt he’s just as good as them. I thought he did well in this series,” said Isaac of his hardworking big man.

The victory thus ended NLEX domination of the league after sweeping Cebuana Lhuillier, Freego, Big Chill and Cagayan Valley in the first four Finals of the league.

The Elite effectively prevented the Road Warriors from making easy baskets with their 2-3 zone that held up all game long as the defending champions also struggled from the three-point range (2 of 19).

Salva scored 14 points for the Road Warriors. Garvo Lanete added 12 including 10 in the second quarter as NLEX roared to 52-38 advantage at halftime.

NLEX appeared to have the game under control in the third until it started missing shots, eventually losing its poise and rhythm. NLEX made just 3 of 22 in the pivotal period.

Ferrer hit a triple to give Blackwater Sports a 72-68 lead with 7:34 left but Salva and Baser Amer answered with back-to-back baskets to tie the count at 72 with 2:17 remaining,

But the defending champions failed to finish the job.

Both teams went scoreless in the next 50 seconds before Mangahas slipped past Amer for a layup and Celiz scored on a followup to put Elite ahead to stay, 76-72 with 41 second to go.