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By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – The Blackwater Elite overcame a poor game by prized rookie Mac Belo as it scored a 96-85 win over the NLEX Road Warriors in the 2016-2017 Oppo PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Belo, the top-overall pick in the 2016 PBA Rookie Draft, was held to just nine points, all in the second half, but contributed five rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Elite.
Arthur Dela Cruz led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds for the Elite, which recovered from two straight defeats against the TNT Katropa and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to improve its win-loss record to 3-2.
Kyle Pascual added 16 markers, while Ronjay Buenafe and James Sena contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Elite, which registered its franchise’s first win against the Road Warriors.
The Elite went on an early 15-8 start behind Dela Cruz and Dennis Miranda. The lead later grew to 10 points following a triple by Raymond Aguilar but the Road Warriors chopped it down to 24-18.
The Road Warriors came to within 29-25 early in the second frame but the Elite kept its lead heading into the halftime break on conversions by Dylan Ababou, Reil Cervantes and Nard John Pinto.
The Road Warriors came to within four anew in the third canto but the Elite had a quick response from Dela Cruz, Buenafe and Belo for a 77-64 advantage on a buzzer-beating triple by Ababou.
The Elite kept its aggressiveness in the final frame en route to building its largest lead of the match at 15 points, 87-72, on an inside conversion by Dela Cruz to clinch the victory.
Carlo Lastimosa top-scored with 23 points, while Marnel Baracael added 16 markers for the Road Warriors, which suffered its third consecutive defeat after winning its opening day match./PN
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