Blackwater buries Kia in 19-pt win

The Blackwater Elite relied on a strong second half to defeat the Kia Picanto, 95-76, on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Mike Digregorio paced Blackwater with 21 points, but the guard got a lot of help from fellow starters Pos Erram and Allein Maliksi. Erram tallied 17 points with 14 boards, while Maliksi added 14 markers with three boards.

Bard Pinto had a less than stellar shooting night, hitting just five points, but he made up for it with seven rebounds, eight assists, and two steals with just two turnovers.

James Sean and Mac Belo led the bench with a combined 17 points.

Ahead by just six at the halftime break, the Elite erupted for 30 third quarter points while allowing just 24 to establish a double-digit lead heading into the final frame, 77-65.

In the fourth, Blackwater went on a tear, uncorking a 17-1 run capped by a Chris Javier trey to stretch the lead to 26 at the 2:05 mark, 94-68, enough to earn the victory.

Veteran Ronald Tubid came up big for Kia, scoring 22 points with seven rebounds with a high 61 percent shooting clip. He teamed up with Reden Celda who waxed hot with 21 points off a 7 of 9 clip, but Kia’s Rashawn McCarthy and Glenn Khobuntin struggled with a combined 3 of 14 clip as starters. — BAP, GMA News