SADDLED by the absence of key UST players in its lineup, the Blackwater Elite suffered its first loss in three outings at the hands of the Cebuana-Lhuiller Gems, 52-73, in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Aspirants Cup at the Trinity University of Asia Gym last Nov. 21.
The Elite fell behind by 14 points, 28-42, in the first half before closing the gap in the third quarter, 41-49, following a 9-2 run capped by Neil Pascual’s layup. But the team lost steam in the final canto, turning the ball over six times that led to a 13-2 scoring attack by the Gems.
The Elite was clearly missing the playmaking of Jeric Fortuna, who was playing as a reserve for the Sinag-Pilipinas team in the Southeast Asian games. Carmelo Afuang and Chris Camus joined De La Salle University’s Joseph Marata in the Philippine Collegiate Champion’s League.
Clark Bautista was the lone Tiger in the lineup and contributed only four points in 31 minutes of play. Isaiah Ciriacruz paced the Elite with 21 points.
“Psychologically, [the UST players] were a big loss in the playing court,” Elite coach Leo Isaac said. “The [remaining] players were apprehensive in their movements and could not execute the plays properly.”
The Elite had a total of 21 turnovers while the Gems committed only 10. Cebuana also outrebounded Blackwater, 19-9, and scored 18 second-chance points
