Blackwater shoots for solo lead
Credit to Author: JOSEF T. RAMOS, TMT| Date: Thu, 23 May 2019 16:13:10 +0000
Blackwater shoots for solo lead when it faces crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at 7 p.m. tonight in Season 44 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Elite, under rookie coach Aries Dimaunahan, are coming off a close 94-91 overtime win over Meralco in last Sunday’s opening game when they collide with the Gin Kings, led by last year’s Best Import Justin Brownlee.
Dimaunahan, a Ginebra player in 2005, said he is excited to test his coaching prowess against his former mentor Tim Cone.
“I’m excited because I’m facing my former team and my former coach,” said Dimaunahan, who played with Alaska under Cone in the 2011 PBA season. “That will be a big test really for a rookie coach. After coach Norman (Black), now it is coach Tim. I will be more motivated. We will do the best game plan and hopefully we get another win on Friday.”
Rookie Bobby Ray Parks Jr., son of seven-time PBA Best Import Bobby Ray Parks Sr., debuted with 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
“I love playing [against] Ginebra,” said Parks, a three-time Asean Basketball League Most Valuable Player. “Ginebra is a well-coached team. They have a lot of great players, height, diversity. It’s going to be a great challenge.”
Blackwater import Alex Stepheson finished with 21 points and 31 rebounds while Mike Digregorio contributed another 21 points.
Meanwhile, Columbian Dyip and Meralco are keen to post their first win when they clash in the 4:30 p.m. first game.
Columbian Dyip’s import Kyle Barone had a PBA debut of 30 points and 22 rebounds while Meralco’s import Gani Lawal finished with 34 points and 21 rebounds in Sunday’s opener.
The post Blackwater shoots for solo lead appeared first on The Manila Times Online.