LA Revilla leads Kia past Blackwater to give Coach Manny Pacquiao win in debut

BOCAUE — (UPDATED 6:25 p.m.) Manny Pacquiao won his PBA coaching debut on Sunday after his Kia Sorento defeated Blackwater Elite, 80-66, in a battle of expansion squads to open the league's 40th season at Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

For that, the Filipino ring icon has another pint-sized player to thank: LA Revilla.

The former La Salle sentinel scored 23 points and anchored the Sorento pressuer defense to mastermind Kia's second half comeback.

"I didn't know what happened, we just played the game we trusted Coach, we trusted each other," said Revilla, who scored 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter.

With Pacquiao in the starting lineup, Kia started slowly, trailing by as much as 13 points in the first half. Cheered every time he touched the ball, Pacquiao barely made an impact, committing two turnovers and a foul before being subbed out for good at the 5:13 mark of the first period.

"Nung first quarter, second quarter, medyo sabog depensa ng team," said Pacquiao.

Kia was still down by nine, 34-25, to start the second half when Revilla spearheaded the Sorento uprising.

"Si LA maganda yung nilaro, nung second half maganda ipinakita niya," said Pacquiao of Revilla.

"Malaking bagay ginawa ni LA tonight."

Reil Cervantes, making his PBA comeback for the Sorento, first worked on chipping away the lead, and then passed the baton to Revilla who nailed a trey to bring Kia closer, 46-44. He then followed that up with a drive to tie the game.

Revilla capped the third quarter with five straight points to give Kia a 63-51 advantage heading into the final period.

Kia led by as much as 18 points in the fourth period. Blackwater tried to fight back, but the Sorento played kept the Elite at bay with key defensive stops down the stretch.

"Hindi ko lang alam kung positive itong panalo namin o puwedeng negative kasi paghahandaan na kami ng mga team. Ang maganda lang dito, 'yung morale ng team mataas," said assistant coach Glenn Capacio.

Cervantes finished with 13 points, while Hans Thiele, who lead the charge in the first half, also added 13. Rudy Lingganay contributed 11 points.

Erram and Tiongson paced Blackwater with 10 points each, but they were the only players to score in double digits for Elite. — JST, GMA News

The scores:

KIA 80 - Revilla 23, Thiele 13, Cervantes 13, Lingganay 11, Saldua 7, Alvarez 4, Sanga 3, Webb 2, Padilla 2, Buensuceso 1, Ighalo 1, Alonzo 0, Pacquiao 0, Raymundo 0.

BLACKWATER 66 - Tiongson 10, Erram 10, Faundo 6, Nuyles 6, Menor 6, Cawaling 6, Artadi 6, Salvacion 6, Ballesteros 4, Rodriguez 2, Laure 2, Austria 2, Timberlake 0, Gamalinda 0.

Quarters: 12-21, 25-34, 63-51, 80-66