THE Mahindra Floodbuster received a well-deserved Christmas gift when it upset the Blackwater Elite, 97-93, in overtime in the 2016-2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Philippine Arena, Bocaue, Bulacan, yesterday, December 25.
The Floodbuster, virtually a laughingstock in the league prior to the scrambling victory, thus arrested a ï¬ve-game skid while receiving a perfect Christmas blessing for their efforts.
Alex Mallari, a castoff from the Star Hotshots, played arguably his best game in his career in leading Blackwater to victory. He deï¬ed the Blackwater defense by scoring backto-back baskets to push his team to a 95-85 lead in the ï¬nal minute.
Blackwater threatened, cutting the gap to just two points at 95-93, but Ryan Arana sealed the victory for Mahindra with a pair of free throws in the ï¬nal 1.8 seconds of the game to ï¬ nalize the count.
Mallari ï¬nished with a game-high 23 points for Mahindra. Ryan Arana, with 19 markers and Nico Salva with 14, were the other double digit scorers for the Floodbuster. With the victory the Floodbuster (1 win, 5 losses) tied the NLEX Road Warriors (1-5) at 11th and 12th place in the standings.
Leading the standings are the San Miguel Beermen (4-1), the Talk N Text Tropang Texters (4-2), the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters (4-2), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-2) and Star (3-2).
From solo second Blackwater (43) fell all the way down to 6th place in the standings. The other teams include the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (3-3), the Alaska Aces (3-3), Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-3) and the Meralco Bolts (2-3).
Arthur Dela Cruz bulldozed his way inside the paint to lead the Elite with 18 markers. Point guard Nard Pinto chipped in 15 markers. Mac Belo, virtually an unstoppable scoring machine in his previous games, was limited to 14 points.
Blackwater has surprised all the experts with the way it has caught up to the league’s elite at the top of the standings midway through the single round elimination.
