BOCAUE, Bulacan. – LA Revilla did not have the kind of start he would have wanted in his PBA career. His game Sunday could drastically turn things around.
With the sophomore guard coming off the bench and providing the spark the Sorento came from behind to carve a runaway 80-66 victory over fellow newcomer Blackwater at the start of the PBA Philippine Cup before a record opening day crowd of 52,612 paying fans at the Philippine Arena.
Revilla scattered 14 of his 23 points in just 6:36 of action the pivotal third period, igniting a furious charge by Kia, which carried the momentum over to the fourth quarter to post several 18-point spreads, the last at 80-62.
“I’m just overwhelmed by the moment and thankful at the same time,” said the former De La Salle U star who was drafted at 24th overall by GlobalPort last year before being released to the dispersal draft that allowed Kia to nab him.
“I didn’t expect anything like this. I don’t know what happened. I just stayed in the game, trusted the system and the result just happened,” added the 24-year-old, who played a total of three games with the Batang Pier in his rookie season, notching just a total of two points.
On Sunday, the 5-foot-8 Revilla entered the game after starting playmaker Virgil Buensuceso and reliever Rudy Lingganay and promptly went 10-for-15 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, while adding six rebounds in just over 21 minutes of action.
Hans Thiele and Reil Cervantes each had 13 points and Lingganay 11 in a balanced attack that was complemented by the Sorento’s stingy defense.
Juami Tiongson and JP Erram each had 10 points for Blackwater, which committed a total 29 turnovers, 13 in the second half, which Kia translated into a total 25 points.
The Sorento actually had 14 turnovers at the turn, but gathered their wits about them to wind up with just 19.
“I give credit to the boys,” said Glenn Capacio, chief assistant to playing coach Manny Pacquiao and the one who kept the team together after it trailed by as many as 18-31 in the second quarter.
“They’ve been playing well for two weeks na. di ako nagugulat he played well. Medyo nu’ng first half jitters, nerbiyos, halos nabibitawan ang bola,” added Capacio. “Pero we stayed positive. Ang sabi ko, lalabas din ang laro natin. With this win, lalong naniwala sila na kaya nilang mag-compete sa PBA.”
As expected, Pacquiao started but saw action for only the first 6:46 of the game, failing to launch any attempt while committing two turnovers.
Although Kia has a Saturday game against Barangay Ginebra in Lucena City his multitude of fans would have to wait a while before seeing Pacquiao in a basketball game again as he is set to defend his WBO welterweight crown against Chris Algieri in Macau on Nov. 23.
Still, the eight-division world champion was very satisfied with his team’s debut, especially the way it overcame a first half that saw the Sorento trailing 25-34 at the turn.
“Bale sabog depensa at opensa naming nu’ng first half, kaya ang sabi ko sa kanila alisin ang pressure sa sarili,” said Pacquiao. “Ang sabi ko, ‘Natural lang iyan, maraming tao.’ Kailangan lang, mag-concentrate, execute plays tulad sa training, at konting bilis.
“Unang na-develop depensa, tapos dumating ang opensa.” (NC)
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.
Quarterscores: 12-21, 25-34, 63-51, 80-66
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