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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Mahindra Enforcer pulled away from a close game in the final 3 minutes to best the Globalport Batang Pier, 108-98, in the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup on Wednesday, July 20 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Enforcer recorded the two-year-old franchise’s best two-game start at 2-0, and, according to coach Chris Gavina, that was made possible by the correct attitude and motivation – including a well-timed Viber group message.
“I want to deflect all our efforts totally to my guys. Our players really withstood a very strong Globalport team. We started off slow, I know Globalport is very thin right now and our guys just wanted it more,” Gavina said after the game.
“I sent them a quote in our Viber group earlier today about the difference between the good teams and great teams is heart. That’s a quote from Michael Jordan and our guys just played with great heart today.”
Import James White, still young at 22 fresh out of college playing for Georgia Tech, led the way with 28 points, 20 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.
He poured in 12 points in the final quarter as Mahindra finished the match on a decisive 14-6 run in the final 3.5 minutes to break away from a precarious two-point lead.
Aldrech Ramos tallied 16 points, missing only two of his 8 field goal attempts, and buried the dagger trey that made it a 12-point Mahindra lead with 1:25 remaining.
LA Revilla had 11 points and 7 rebounds, while Paolo Taha added 10 markers.
Gavina played down the 2-0 start and emphasized the need for his players to keep working hard.
“Our culture is to stay humbled, stay hungry and be consistent in what we do. We won two games, we’ve won before. It’s nothing really that we should be surprised about,” he said. “I think it’s just the level of togetherness that our guys exhibit that will really give us that stamp in the PBA.”
Meanwhile, Globalport missed the takeover gene of offensive star Terrence Romeo down the stretch as he sat out reportedly due to stomach flu.
Import Dominique Sutton posted 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Batang Pier, who lost back to back games to start the conference.
Stanley Pringle tried to carry the team sans his backcourt partner with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting while Karl Dehesa chipped in 13 markers. – Rappler.com
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