BASER Amer put his former team to sleep with a dagger banked shot that lifted Blackwater to a thrilling 90-89 win over Meralco Thursday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Working off a screen by Ato Ular, Amer drove to the basket and kissed it off the glass to put the Bossing up by one with 1.7 seconds left after seeing their 10-point lead decimated by the Bolts.
Amer's heroics enabled the Bossing to stretch their win streak to three games and draw level with Barangay Ginebra at No. 2 with a 4-1 card.
The former San Beda stalwart finished with only six points but his clutch ending preserved the game-long brilliance of Jvee Casio and Ular, who paced the victors with 19 and Rey Suerte, who netted 15.
"I told him (Amer) before the game that this is your game, tatalunin mo yung dati mong team. And he delivered," said Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia, who purposely tasked Amer with the potential go-ahead in the crucial offensive with Casio and Yousef Taha expected to be covered by the Meralco defense.
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"I told him, you're gonna win this for us. So it takes a former Meralco player to beat Meralco. Siyempre, sila sanay sa pressure, been there, done that. Kami wala pa halos."
"Ang maganda lang dito, kung last conference, kapag nakalamang kami then nalamangan kami, namamatay na ang kandila namin. Ngayon hindi, nakikita ko sa mata nila, lalo pa tumatapang," said Vanguardia.
Blackwater seized a 10-point lead at the halfway point of the fourth but fueled by Bong Quinto's 12-point outburst, the Bolts stormed back and led, 87-85, with 32.1 ticks left.
Casio put the Bossing ahead with his fifth three-pointer, 88-87, before Newsome made it 89-88 for Meralco with 6.5 seconds remaining, and eventually Amer settled the issue.
With this upset of Meralco, Blackwater's celebrated rookie Bossing Brandon Rosser got a winning debut after missing their first three games due to finger injury. Rosser finished with eight points.
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Newsome and Quinto fired 23 and 18, respectively, for Meralco, which slipped to back-to-back losses and 3-3. (OL)
The Scores:
Blackwater 90 - Ular 19, Casio 19, Suerte 15, McCarthy 12, Rosser 8, Taha 8, Amer 6, Ebona 2, Sena 1, Escoto 0, Ayonayon 0, Publico 0.
Meralco 89 - Newsome 23, Quinto 18, Banchero 14, Almazan 12, Hodge 6, Caram 6, Baclao 5, Hugnatan 2, Pasaol 2, Jose 1, Black 0.
Quarters: 18-30, 43-46, 70-69, 90-89.
