The Blackwater Elite may have finally found the right import in Henry Walker who carried them to their first win in the Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup.
But Walker, a former NBA veteran who previously played for Alaska and NLEX, wasn’t initially in Blackwater’s radar when it was searching for a replacement for the injured Trevis Simpson.
“He was not on our list, to be honest,” Elite coach Leo Isaac told sportswriters. “He only came by chance.”
According to Isaac, the team had its eyes on former Air 21 import Zach Graham who begged off as he has a commitment in Venezuela.
“We had Zach Graham in mind before when Trent Simpson injured his groin. Graham’s agent, Sheryl Reyes, told us that Zach would take some time off before going to Venezuela where he is the back-to-back MVP winner.”
“We asked Sheryl if she had other import that could help our team. She said, ‘Try Henry Walker’. Henry is actually going to play in China by November. He wants to use this tournament to prep up himself for the Chinese competition.”
Isaac is delighted to find a gem of an import in Walker who scored 32 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to lead Blackwater to a 92-86 win over Phoenix last Sunday.
“Special thanks to our new import. He gave the inspiration for everybody so we could come out as winners for this game,” added Isaac. “Going to the final nine minutes of the game, he was complaining of cramps. He was challenging the locals to take charge because he couldn’t move properly. He was shouting at his teammates to take the shot. That’s a good sign of a true winner.”
Walker had to play through cramps in order to secure the win for his team.
“JP Erram was hit with an elbow. I was telling him at the locker room at half time, are you gonna fight or are you gonna run? He came out there and fought. So when I got cramps, I can’t sit down now. I just had to keep fighting on it. I told the guys to do anything you can to win. That’s all it is about. They came out and showed that they got heart. That’s all it is,” Walker said.
