Pint-sized guard LA Revilla played the game of his young Philippine Basketball Association career, leading the upstart KIA Sorento past Blackwater Elite, 80-66, in front of a mammoth Philippine Cup opening day crowd at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on Sunday.
Revilla wound up with a career-high 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting with six rebounds to pace KIA’s to the first win during the first-ever sporting event at the three-month old venue, while avenging their pre-season loss to the Elite during their out-of-town tuneup match a few weeks earlier.
Hans Thiele and Reil Cervantes posted 13 apiece, while Rudy Lingganay pitched in 11 markers.
Earlier in the ballgame, Blackwater was the more composed squad in handling the pressure of playing in front of a packed audience, gaining a sizeable 13-point advantage, 31-18, midway through the second.
In the third, KIA outscored Blackwater, 38-17, on a torrid 14-for-22 shooting in the third quarter led by Revilla’s 14 markers during the stretch to overturn the Elite’s control of the contest.
Early in the fourth, the match was all but settled when Sorento stretched their lead to its biggest at 66-51 on Eder Saldua’s trey with 11:20 left and broke the backs of their fellow newcomer.
“They have been playing well for two weeks now. Hindi ako nagugulat na they played well tonight,” said KIA’s lead assistant coach Glenn Capacio.
“Nung first half, andoon yung jitters. Grabe yung crowd at halos nabibitawan ang bola nila. I stayed positive with them at halftime, I told them na lalabas rin yung laro natin. Naniwala din sila na kaya nilang magcompete dito sa PBA. So sana maging umpisa ng magandang itatakbo ng team,” he added
“It’s just the first game. I’m just thankful and I just want to give credit to the coaches and the staff, and everybody who’s part of the team. So, it’s a long road for us and we’ll keep on working,” said Revilla, who was drafted then released by Globalport last season.
“It’s all positive. Everything’s happening so well for us that we gotta take advantage of that. Coach Manny [Pacquiao] is such a positive influence inside the dugout, which gave us so much inspiration.”
A record-setting total of 52,612 fans packed the country’s largest mixed-use venue to witness the opening of Asia’s first pay-for-play league and Manny Pacquiao’s debut as player-coach for the league’s latest member.
Pacquiao played just seven minutes in the first quarter, commiting two turnovers and one foul.
