BLACKWATER prolific guard Sedrick Barefield’s eyes must have widened when he saw an open lane for a drive against foreign guest team Eastern last night.
But the usually reliable Barefield muffed an unmolested layup, with the visiting side’s Kobey Lam tipping the ball twice for the rebound—typifying their grit.
Propped up by a fiery second-half fightback, Eastern essayed an 84-75 victory over the Bossing for their second straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at The Arena in San Juan.
After Eastern’s big stop, new import Chris McLaughlin found a cutting Adam Xu, who was fouled by Blackwater guard Rey Suerte. Xu canned a free throw that gave the visitors a 77-62 spread with 4:53 to go.
Ginebra unveils prized addition Troy Rosario when it makes its debut against NLEX in the nightcap while struggling teams TNT and Magnolia collide in the first match today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Eastern coach Mensur Bajramovic admitted the Bossing gave his charges fits, especially in the first two quarters where Blackwater held a 39-29 halftime lead.
“Before the game, we talked about our scouting and preparation for our team. They can play very good. They can move the ball, they can score. But if you don’t have patience and energy you will have a problem,” Bajramovic said. “In the first half, we didn’t. We missed a lot of shots.
“They didn’t play as a team but in the second half we fixed it, we moved the ball better, made some shots, took control of the game. I think we deserve to win this game,” he added.
McLaughlin notched 32 points, grabbed 23 rebounds, and issued three assists for Eastern while Glen Yang chipped in 14 markers, seven boards, and two dimes.
Lam also had 10 as Eastern scored a fitting follow up to a 105-84 rout of TNT last Friday and rose to 4-1.
Blackwater failed to make up for a 95-107 loss to NLEX last Saturday and remained winless in three starts in the mid-season tilt.
Trailing by 10 at the halfway mark, Eastern battled back and gained a 66-58 edge heading into the final stanza.
A McLaughlin three-point play pushed Eastern’s advantage to as much as 80-64 with 4:05 left.
Reinforcement George King totaled 41 points and 12 caroms for the Bossing but no other local hit double-digits for Blackwater.
Saved for a lone defeat at the hands of Rain or Shine last week, Eastern is fast proving it has what it takes.
The foreigners’ next game will be against the Kings on Sunday, Dec. 15, which should serve as a stern test.
