Henry Walker and Allein Maliksi carried the Blackwater Elite to a rousing upset of No.1 seed Meralco Bolts, 92-91, as they forced a knockout match in their Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal showdown on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Walker poured in 20 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter while Maliksi, who made 15 markers, buried the game-winning jumper with nine seconds left to power the No.8-ranked Elite who are eyeing their first semifinal stint in franchise history.
Walker also had 18 boards and six assists as Mike Digregorio added 20 points for the Elite who stood their ground against the heavily favored Bolts from start to finish.
Blackwater led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter as its excellent zone defense stifled Meralco’s attack.
But the Bolts, behind Cliff Hodge, woke up and closed the gap to just two points, 42-40, at the break.
Blackwater stayed afloat for the rest of the way, having an answer to Meralco’s runs. Walker had the hot hand in the final frame, making the Bolts pay with his offensive explosion.
The Bolts however seemed to gain the momentum after a 5-0 run with with 3:38 left handed them an 84-81 edge–their biggest lead.
But the pesky Elite didn’t go away, with Roi Sumang coming up with huge plays down the stretch.
After a Baser Amer triple gave the Bolts an 89-86 lead, Sumang hit two free throws off a flagrant foul from Jared Dillinger with 1:08 left.
Sumang then caught Allen Durham off guard by picking his pocket from behind. His steal led to a Maliksi fastbreak pullup with 34 seconds left.
Durham redeemed himself by scoring a putback off his own free throw misses with 15 seconds left. But the Elite executed a nice play off a timeout, finding Maliksi open for a jumper with nine seconds remaining to regain the lead.
The Bolts were shut down by the Elite on the other end, failing to get a decent look at the basket.
Chris Newsome led the Bolts with 19 points, eight boards and five assists. Durham had 18 points and 21 rebounds, while Hodge finished with 18 markers.
The knockout match is scheduled on Thursday.
The scores:
BLACKWATER 92 – Walker 30, Digregorio 20, Maliksi 15, Sumang 9, Erram 7, Sena 4, Marcelo 4, Canaleta 3, Belo 0, Pinto 0, Cruz 0.
MERALCO 91 – Newsome 19, Durham 18, Hodge 18, Dillinger 12, Tolomia 11, Amer 8, Hugnatan 5, Lanete 0, Caram 0, De Ocampo 0.
Quarters: 24-17, 42-40, 63-62, 92-91.
