Blackwater bracing to play before PBA record crowd

MANILA, Philippines – Having the proper mindset is part of Blackwater Elite’s preparations as they brace to play before a mammoth crowd in their match against the Manny Pacquiao-led KIA Sorentos on opening day of the 2015 Philippine Cup on Sunday, October 19 at the Philippine Arena.

“Pino-project namin yung sarili namin na maglalaro kami sa more than 50,000 na tao,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac. “Excited kami para sa opening game namin.” (We’re projecting ourselves playing before more than 50,000 people. We’re excited for our opening game.) 

The 55,000-capacity venue is expected to cater to at least 35,000 fans as the two expansion teams make their PBA debut at 3 PM and will be followed by a duel between crowd favorites Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters at 5:15 PM.

More than that, the presence of the 8-division boxing champion Pacquiao will likely draw even more fans to the game.

Building on their pre-season match-up, Blackwater is looking to test its competitiveness by knocking out KIA right away to break into the win column and get a head start in their bid for a respectable finish in their first PBA conference. 

Blackwater and KIA, who were approved as new teams in the PBA just last April, tested the waters of the pro league in a pre-season tune-up game where the former D-League champions dominated KIA, 88-77.

“We like the match-up against KIA and hopefully we can further improve from our previous tune-up game,” Isaac said. “We’re preparing our very best against KIA and hopefully we can get a win on opening day.” 

Former Rain or Shine sophomore forward Alex Nuyles and former Meralco Bolts veteran Sunday Salvacion led the way for Blackwater in that game with 18 and 15 points, respectively. 

According to Isaac, who also coached Blackwater in the D-League, the team’s modest goal is to string together wins that could hopefully set them up for more competitive conferences as the season goes along. (READ: Blackwater to retain D-League system for PBA)

“Ang pinaka-immediate goal namin is to be competitive. Maybe we can get some wins,” he said. “If we’ll be given the chance (for the playoffs), why not? It will all depend on how we will be able to jell and form a team right away.” (Our immediate goal is to be competitive.) 

Isaac says the team is still trying to build some chemistry but he’s happy with the team’s healthy mixture of players.

“It’s a combination of veteran and young players, and hopefully we can jell immediately and get the right chemistry to be competitive with the other teams.”

Meanwhile Pacquiao, who is a playing coach for KIA, is expected to play just limited minutes on Sunday to avoid unnecessary injury leading up to his bout against Chris Algieri on November 23, where he will defend his WBO welterweight title.

Pacquiao played for 10 minutes in the pre-season game against Blackwater and scored a point, grabbed a rebound, and turned the ball over twice. Former Blackwater forward Reil Cervantes and Chad Alonzo had 23 and 10 markers, respectively, for KIA. – Rappler.com