Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
3 p.m. – Globalport vs Talk n Text
5:15 p.m. – San Miguel vs Purefoods
MANILA, Philippines - The Blackwater Elite wished Manny Pacquiao all the best in his forthcoming US trip but foiled the Kia Carnival’s bid to give their playing coach a triumphant sendoff.
Rookie guard Brian Heruela exploded for a career-high 27 points while veteran gunner Sunday Salvacion erupted for a personal tournament best of 22 markers as the Elite overcame PJ Ramos’ monstrous 49-point job in topping the Carnival, 115-104, to stay in playoff contention in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at The Arena in San Juan last night.
Ramos overpowered Marcus Douthit, but Heruela and Salvacion had their own dominant performances, standing out as the Elite beat the Carnival in a duel of expansion teams in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special.
Blackwater avenged a loss to Kia in their Philippine Cup faceoff and improved to 2-6 (win-loss) in snapping a three-game losing skein in the mid-season conference.
With Pacquiao showing up in civvies and staying on the bench, Kia moved down to ninth place with a 3-5 slate.
Meanwhile, Talk n Text, Purefoods and San Miguel Beer, champion teams that have been stunned by Pacquiao and his Kia team, all see action in a crucial twinbill at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.
The Tropang Texters seek the solo lead in tangling with the Globalport at 3 p.m. while both the Hotshots and the Beermen try to avert further slide as they square off at 5:15 p.m.
Averaging just 10.2 points, Heruela delivered almost a triple of his norm as he outfoxed and outperformed Kia counterparts LA Revilla and JR Buensuceso, scoring on a variety of shots.
Salvacion also made a big impact, striking heavily from afar as he topped the total number of points (16) he scored in his four previous games in the tourney.
Doing his best to neutralize Ramos, Marcus also contributed 24 points on the other end, the biggest being a three-pointer at the height of Kia’s fightback in the fourth quarter.
In their next possession, Salvacion also pumped in a trey from a broken play as the Elite restored a commanding lead, 101-89, and went on to notch a second win in pro play after their 80-77 upset of the San Miguel Beermen on Feb. 11.
The Elite foiled the Carnival’s bid to stretch their run to three games as Douthit and his teammates established an early 18-point lead, sat on a 56-42 cushion at the half and hung tough in the face of Kia’s repeated uprisings in the second half.
Kia actually scored the game’s first seven points but Blackwater quickly made the right adjustments and dominated the rest of the opening half with a 50-percent field goal as against the Carnival’s 30-percent clip.
In today’s mainer, Purefoods tries to snap a three-game losing skein while San Miguel tries to start its climb from the bottom of the standings.
“We’re both desperate for a win so I expect a real battle,” said Purefoods coach Tim Cone.
“We’ve both had time now to adjust to our new ‘old’ imports, so both teams should be able to pick up their play,” Cone also said, referring to Denzel Bowles and Arizona Reid.
The Hotshots dropped their most recent game against the Barangay Ginebra Kings – a match they played with hardly a preparation as Bowles had just taken over from Daniel Orton then.