Erram's late free throws lift Blackwater over Beermen
MANILA, Philippines — Back on duty for his mother team in the PBA, Blackwater’s JP Erram had a rather underwhelming night.
But when he got the ball with a chance to put the stacked San Miguel Beer away for good, he delivered.
Erram hit the final two free throws of the Elite's PBA Governors' Cup game against San Miguel, putting the Beermen at the backseat by three points with 19.8 ticks left to play.
San Miguel import AZ Reid and Arwind Santos had no other choice but to go for threes, but both of their looks didn’t fall.
"Kailangan talaga manalo eh. Last game namin bago ‘yung break ng FIBA,” the toothless Erram told the press after the tussel. “Syempre, gusto kong makatulong para maganda ‘yung break namin at hindi na namin isipin. Pag matalo kami, ang dami pang iisipin ‘di ba? Ngayon, maganda vibe namin.”
Erram, who buoyed team Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games with his hustle, finished the game with 10 points and nine rebounds. But his shots from the charity stripe proved to be his biggest contribution as it helped the Elite go 2-0 in the third conference, already besting their disappointing 1-10 outing in the Commissioner’s Cup.
"Gusto ko lang talaga manalo. Ayaw ko mapahiya sa team ko eh. [Kababalik] ko tapos ile-let down ko sila? Gusto ko talaga ma-shoot ‘yung dalawang free throw, luckily pumasok naman,” he offered.
Aside from giving his team a boost, Erram said he badly wanted to help Blackwater notch their second win.
"’Yung 1-10 pa lang motivation na namin 'yun eh. 'Yung mga mistakes namin sana ma-improve and ma-convert namin sa wins. Sabi nga ni coach kanina, ito ‘yung panibagong chance namin,” he said.
Blackwater will face NorthPort next when the conference resumes after the two FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers (September 13 and 17). They tangle on the 21st.
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