Blackwater on track to spring surprises

MANILA, Philippines - It won’t be easy breaking out of the PBA cellar but Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy said yesterday the Elite is on track to spring surprises when the league opens on Oct. 18 with a lineup reinforced by young blood.

For Blackwater, there’s nowhere else to go but up. Last season, the rookie franchise went 0-11 in the Philippine Cup, 3-8 in the Commissioner’s Cup and 1-10 in the Governors Cup for an overall record of 4-29, a winning clip of only 12.1 percent.

To beef up its roster, coach Leo Isaac dug deep in the draft last Sunday and tapped eight rookie hopefuls, the most by any team. The picks were 6-3 Art de la Cruz of San Beda in the first round, 5-9 Almond Vosotros of La Salle in the second, 6-2 Jason Melano of St. Francis in the third, 6-0 3/4 Keith Agovida of Arellano in the fourth, 5-9 3/4 Jawhar Purdy of California State Stanislaus in the fifth, 6-3 Chris Palma of Arellano in the sixth, 5-7 1/2 Mon Abundo of CEU in the seventh and 6-0 3/8 Randy Dilay of Dominican University in the eighth.

The Elite cleared up roster space by waiving veterans Bryan Faundo, Val Acuna, Eddie Laure, Sunday Salvacion, Paul Artadi and Robbie Celiz. Faundo was recently signed up by Meralco. Another veteran Larry Rodriguez went back to Talk ‘N’ Text in a recent three-way deal that brought Mike Cortez and James Sena to Blackwater and Jimmy Alapag to Meralco.

“We definitely got younger,” said Sy. “We improved our scoring power and basketball IQ. Now, we’ve got several go-to guys. I think we’re capable of springing surprises this season. We were lucky in the draft. We didn’t expect Art to still be available with the ninth overall pick. We actually wanted to choose Maverick Ahanmisi but he went early. But between Art and Ahanmisi, we’d choose Art. Vosotros was in our wish list from the start so we got what we wanted.”

Sy said only De la Cruz, Vosotros, Melano, Agovida and Purdy will be tendered offer sheets. “Everyone will be fighting for slots,” he said. “Art will finish the NCAA season so we aren’t able to give him an offer now. He’ll miss two games with us before he can join. Art is a versatile player who can play three or four. We expect him to be a starter. When we met up after the draft, I didn’t realize Art and Vosotros go back since their high school days and BamBam (Gamalinda) and Art are both from San Beda so there was instant chemistry. We like Art’s attitude. He doesn’t mind playing for a team in the cellar. All he wants is to contribute and show he deserves playing time.”

As for Vosotros, Sy said he was a marked man when he showed up for his first practice last Monday. “Vosotros was the man to beat at practice so he was heavily guarded,” said Sy. “He’s still adjusting to game situations. But during the warm-ups, we were all impressed by his shooting. He’s a cold-blooded shooter like Shin Dong Pa. What makes Vosotros extra special is he can play one or two.”

Melano was a revelation in his first Blackwater practice. “Melano is a future Vic Manuel or Arwind Santos,” said Sy. “He plays three or four. He needs to get bigger, to put on more muscle and has incredible hang time. Melano is like Manny Pacquiao, coming from humble beginnings who’s tough, strong and not scared of anyone. Agovida is a left-handed jumpshooter with a nice stroke. He once scored 82 points for the Jose Rizal juniors in the NCAA. Purdy is a high leaper like Justin Melton and we also expect a lot of good things from him.”

To get ready for the season, Blackwater will leave for Malaysia today to battle in the six-team Seri Mutiara Champions Cup. The Elite will play Farmcochem Touch-Up tomorrow, Malaysia on Saturday and 906 Melaka on Sunday, all at the Bukit Serindik court in Melacca. Blackwater then takes on Negeri Sembilan Matrix on Wednesday and Hang Tuah of Indonesia on Thursday, both at the Port Dickson court in Negeri Sembilan. The playoffs will be held on Sept. 5 and 6 at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

“We’re up against teams with two imports so we’ll be handicapped but we’re treating this tournament like Gilas in Estonia,” said Sy. “We want to do team bonding. We want everyone to get to know each other and get familiar with coach Leo’s system. We won’t be complete. Art is still playing in the NCAA. Carlo Lastimosa is out with a fractured finger and will need one more week to rest. J. P. Erram has a knee injury and is also recovering. Melano has no passport and it’s too late to get him one. Cortez is still in the US.”