MANILA, Philippines – As Blackwater Elite stood less than a minute away from being potentially bundled out of the game, the brotherly bond between John Paul “Poy” Erram and Henry Walker turned out to be the crucial factor that saved the team for an 86-84 win over Magnolia Hotshots on Wednesday, June 6. 

In their previous game against NLEX, Blackwater import Walker was seen talking to Erram after the latter was pacified by his teammates due to an outburst regarding the plays being run by his team. 

“Malaking bagay [ang payo niya sa akin sa game na ito] and ‘yun nga Henry is a leader. He’s not like other imports kasi sobrang vocal niya, gusto niya ‘yung confidence ng bawat isang player makuha para umangat ‘yung bawat laro namin, so through that nakita ko rin kung gaano siya ka-passionate,” said Erram. 

(His advice played a big factor in the game because Henry is a leader. He’s not like other imports because he’s really vocal and he wants to bolster everyone’s confidence in order to improve our plays, so we see how passionate he is.)

A renewed Erram led the team with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Walker sealed his 11-point outing with a go-ahead dunk over the Hotshots.  

The 6-foot-7 center and the rest of his teammates know that they have established a bond with Walker as someone whom they can learn from because of his experience.

“Sinabihan niya ako na every time na ma-frustrate ako, sa kanya ako lalapit,” said Erram.

“Every time may nangyayari, sa kanya ako lumalapit, siya ‘yung nagpapakalma sa akin at malaking bagay ‘yun for me as a player, para sa career ko.”

(He told me to go to him every time I get frustrated. Every time something happens, I should go to him because he is the one that calms me down and this is a good thing for me as a player and for my career.) 

Although likely to get eliminated, Blackwater is still looking to continue its winning momentum on Friday, June 8, against the Rain or Shine Elastopainters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Masaya ‘yung feeling na nakakuha ng isang panalo and sabi ko kanina na nakalimutan namin ‘yung feeling kung paano manalo eh,” reminisced Erram about Blackwater’s first win in the conference. 

(It’s a great feeling to get a win and I was saying that we forgot the feeling of winning already.)  – Rappler.com