Ilagan steps up as Blackwater stays perfect in Kadayawan Invitational
At A Glance
- Ilagan came up huge and fired 17 points – none bigger than the clutch floater that gave the Bossing the 94-90 cushion with 36 seconds left to notch their second win in as many games in the pocket tournament.
RK Ilagan finishes with 17 points for Blackwater.
RK Ilagan took charge as Blackwater pulled off a come-from-behind 95-90 victory over NLEX to stay perfect in the Kadayawan Invitational tournament at the USEP Gym on Friday, Aug. 22.
Ilagan came up huge and fired 17 points – none bigger than the clutch floater that gave the Bossing the 94-90 cushion with 36 seconds left to notch their second win in as many games in the pocket tournament.
Abu Tratter also hit the crucial basket for Blackwater, scoring on a short stab that broke a 90-all deadlock and capped the 17-point comeback for the team.
Ilagan shot 4-of-8 from deep while Troy Malilin continued with his steady play with 19 points. Paul Zamar and Sedrick Barefield had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Converge broke into the win column as Justin Baltazar nailed a clutch hook shot to seal a narrow 100-98 win over Phoenix.
Despite struggling all game, Baltazar delivered when it mattered most, sinking his only basket on the FiberXers’ final possession before their defense stepped up to force the Fuel Masters into missing their last two shots.
Justin Arana finished with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Bryan Santos had 15 points – none bigger than his three free throws in the last 40.9 seconds that tied the game at 98-all.
Converge improved to a 1-1 record though it can still force a tie for the top spot should it win against Blackwater to end its preliminaries.