The Macau Black Knights notched only their second win of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday after surviving the Blackwater Bossing, 123-119, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The victory is Macau’s second in three games but came a bit too late, as the Black Knights are officially out of the running for a quarterfinals seat with their eight losses.
Even so, the win still matters for Macau coach Marcus Elliott, who is now looking forward to what lies ahead for his embattled Black Knights, who once again played without a full complement of players. For Elliott, these late wins are a chance for his team to get better for the long term.
“Let’s just get better. We don’t know what’s going to happen next conference. Let’s just continue to build on this win, build on the confidence, especially being undermanned with a limited amount of bodies,” Elliott told reporters after Macau’s latest conquest. “Keep the guys fresh, safe, healthy, and just keep this confidence rolling.”
Black Knights Learning to Close Things Out?
The Black Knights, of course, could have still been in the playoff hunt if they had only finished games better. While their record shows 2-8, the Black Knights have been in the thick of things in most of their losses, particularly against the TNT Tropang 5G, NLEX Road Warriors, and Meralco Bolts.
But bad shot selection and turnovers proved to be the Black Knights’ undoing in each of those games. And they nearly torpedoed Macau’s endgame against the Bossing, who could’ve taken the lead with under a minute left on a Sedrick Barefield trey ball that rimmed out. That fact isn’t lost on Elliott, who could only breathe a sigh of relief that his Black Knights still came out on top.
“It still was a little shaky,” Elliott said of Macau’s ability to close out games. “But I’m glad we closed it out. We’ve had probably three or four games like that in the clutch where it could have gone either way. I’m just thankful that today it worked out in our favor.”
The Black Knights will be going for back-to-back wins on Saturday when they face the struggling Terrafirma Dyip. They’ll close out their campaign on Wednesday, May 6, against the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
