At A Glance
- Eastern turned to its stifling defense in the third frame to turn back Blackwater in a low scoring affair, 84-75 in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Eastern turned to its stifling defense in the third frame to turn back Blackwater in a low scoring affair, 84-75 in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

The Hong Kong-based crew trailed by double figures in the first half but got its bearings going particularly on the defensive end where they limited the Bossing to just nine points while erupting for 27 in the third frame.
Eastern turned the tables and took control of the contest from there to improve to a 4-1 record after a surprising import switch that saw them tap the services of Canadian Chris McLaughlin in lieu of Cameron Clark who played in the team’s first four games.
The 6-foot-10 center introduced himself to the PBA fans in a fiery fashion, unloading 32 points and hauling 23 rebounds although he also got ample support from Eastern locals with Glen Yang and Kobey Lam both finishing with double figures.
Yang finished with 14 points and seven rebounds as Lam added a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards for Eastern, who kept Blackwater winless through three games.
In contrast to McLaughlin, Blackwater import George King lacked the supporting cast as another explosive showing of 41 points and 12 rebounds go for naught.
No other player reached the double-figure mark for the Bossing with rookie Sedrick Barefield and Rey Suerte the best local scorers with only nine apiece.
King had 31 of his output in the first two quarters – a huge reason why the Bossing took a 49-39 lead at the half.
An entirely different Eastern, however, came out of the dugout at the start of the third frame, forcing Blackwater to consecutive turnovers that fueled the massive 18-point turn around as it took a 66-48 advantage heading into the payoff period.
Blackwater tried to rally back in the fourth quarter behind King but Eastern was just too wise to anymore let go of the lead until the final horn.