MANILA, Philippines – Poy Erram heaved a huge sigh of relief after his Blackwater Elite stayed in playoff contention with a 83-78 win over the Phoenix Fuel Masters Wednesday, February 21. 

It was an emotional night for Erram, who was reduced to tears in the 3rd quarter after being drowned by frustration knowing that a loss would mean a ticket to an early vacation from the PBA. 

“As an athlete, ‘yung passion ko for the game sobrang taas. And to not be able to perform well tapos ‘yun nga, ‘yung decision-making namin mahina, so ako, medyo nadisappoint ako sa team, syempre sa sarili ko kasi hindi ako makapagperform,” said Erram. 

(As an athlete, my passion for the game is really high. To not be able to perform well and not showcase good decision-making, I got slightly disappointed with my team and myself. I was not performing the way I wanted to.) 

But tears turned to cheers as the Elite improved to solo 8th place behind a 5-6 record.

“My teammates and coaches did not give up on me, tinulungan nila ako maibalik ang composure ko then i was able to, ‘yun nga, maibalik ‘yung kumpiyansa ko sa sarili and makaperform ng maayos.” 

(My teammates and coaches did not give up on me. They helped me regain my composure and I was able to be confident and perform well.) 

And perform, Erram did. 

The 28-year-old submitted an all-around showing of 12 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks to tie June Mar Fajardo, the league’s best player, with 7 double-doubles apiece, the most this conference. 

Erram is now also the PBA’s leading rebounder, hauling down 13.8 rebounds in 11 outings. Fajardo is at second with 13.7 rebounds in 10 games.

“I’m happy na ‘yung 4-time MVP, kahit man lang sa stats, medyo nakakasabay ako sa kaniya. Masaya ako. Pero dahil din sa teammates and coaches, dahil sa tiwala nila kaya ganoon ang ipinapakita ko, binabalik ko lang ‘yung tiwala nila sa akin.” 

(I’m happy that at least in statistics, I can go toe-to-toe with the 4-time MVP. I am happy. But I get those kind of numbers because of my teammates and coaches, they trust me and I want to give back to them.)

Erram and Blackwater now play the waiting game as they hope to secure one of the last 4 quarterfinals seat among the 7 remaining teams in the playoff race – Rappler.com