(CNN Philippines) — The Purefoods Star Hotshots opened their campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup with a 89-85 win over the NLEX Road Warriors, Saturday evening (May 9) at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Marqus Blakely marked his return to the Purefoods franchise by scattering 29 points, 18 rebounds, seven steals, and five blocks.
Alex Mallari came off the bench to produce 15 points, while Mark Barroca added nine.
The game was tied when the fourth quarter began until Purefoods took an eight-point lead, 72-64, on a basket from Marc Pingris at the 5:00 mark. NLEX, however, scored five straight points, capped by a Mark Borboran jumper, to trim the deficit to three.
A freethrow from James Yap and a bucket from Blakely put the Hotshots’ margin back up to six, 2:04 left on the clock. Asi Taulava scored two freebies to cut it to four, 75-71, but Joe Devance responded with a triple to give Purefoods a seven-point cushion, 44 seconds remaining.
NLEX tried to stage one last fightback but the Hotshots consistently made their freethrows every time they were fouled.
The Road Warriors got as close to two points, 87-85, after a Jonas Villanueva three-pointer 3 ticks left in the game, but Blakely made a dunk on the other end to secure the victory for Purefoods (1-0).
Even after winning, Hotshots coach Tim Cone didn’t seem pleased with his team’s performance.
“I’m frustrated. We’re just not playing as well as we should be,” said Cone. “We’re battling our own frustrations everyday. We need to keep it fresh.”
NLEX (0-2) was paced by Kwame Alexander, who handed in a huge double-double of 25 points and 26 rebounds.
Villanueva, the only other Road Warrior who finished in double figures, had 14 markers in the loss.
The scores:
Purefoods 89 — Blakely 29, Mallari 15, Barroca 9, Pingris 8, Yap 7, Maliksi 7, Devance 7, Simon 4, Reavis 3, Pennis 0.
NLEX 85 — Alexander 25; Villanueva 14, Cardona 9, Borboran 8, Madanly 8, Canaleta 6, Taulava 6, E. Villanueva 4, Raymundo 2, Ramos 2, Lingganay 1, Apinan 0.
