THORN ON KINGS’ SIDE
Count Marqus Blakely on to make things work for the struggling Star Hotshots.
The former Best Import awardee racked up 19 points and hauled down 19 rebounds to help Star take a 89-82 victory over Barangay Ginebra Sunday.
This has been the sixth time that Blakely played and won against the crowd darlings, proving himself to be a thorn on the side of the Kings. But more importantly, the victory allowed Star to register its first back-to-back wins this Governors’ Cup. And Blakely sure does cherish that after the Hotshots’ early struggles this conference.
“Right now, it’s more about focusing on the team and how we get better. I still think that we’re in the right direction of putting it together and if we put it together, I think we’ll get a couple of wins in a row,” he said.
At 3-4, Star improved its standing and is due for a late push this conference in hopes of squeaking into the top eight and avoid elimination.
For Blakely, the team knows how to do just that. It’s just a matter of how well the team is going to execute down the stretch.
“We definitely know what works and what doesn’t work,” he said. “We just have to come to every game the same way, the defensive mindset, the execution, being able to get stops when it matters, try to switch on and put teams away and keep it.” (RL)
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