Another chance for Blakely

Marqus Blakely hasn’t been his usual self lately. He’s playing in his eighth PBA conference, now with his third team Blackwater, and his stats pale in comparison with the numbers that prolific imports K. J. McDaniels of TNT, Dez Wells of San Miguel Beer and Eugene Phelps of Phoenix are racking up.

Blakely, 30, wasn’t in the original cast of imports for the ongoing Governors Cup. But when Aaron Fuller went down with an ankle injury, Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy called in Blakely for a quick fix. Blakely, who saw action in five games for TNT in the previous Governors Cup, flew in to take over Fuller’s spot when Blackwater played at the Terrific 12 tournament in Macau over a week ago.

In Macau, Blakely hardly looked like the Blakely who took Best Import honors in the 2013 Governors Cup where he led San Mig Coffee to the championship under coach Tim Cone. He shot 14 points in Blackwater’s 93-77 loss to the Seoul SK Knights and 16 in the Elite’s 109-69 setback to the Chiba Jets. It didn’t seem like Blakely was motivated to play hard and fans thought it may just be jet lag.

Then came Blackwater’s first game in the Governors Cup against TNT at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday. Blakely was blanked in the first half and finished with four points on 1-of-4 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws in 28:32 minutes. Blakely suffered cramps in the third quarter, indicating he was far from top form. TNT crushed Blackwater, 135-107.

Last Sunday, Blakely was back on the floor. He was a lot more active than in the TNT game and compiled 18 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and five blocked shots in 41:06 minutes but the Elite still couldn’t book a win, bowing to NLEX, 115-109. Blakely appeared to have earned a reprieve from Blackwater management. 

Sy confirmed yesterday that Blakely will still be in the Blackwater lineup when the Elite faces NorthPort at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Saturday. Blakely’s contract is guaranteed until Oct. 11 when Blackwater battles Columbian at the MOA Arena. Fuller, meanwhile, has resumed practice and will be on standby.

Depending on how Blakely performs, Blackwater may stick with him or activate Fuller. Because he started the conference with the Elite, Blakely may be placed in the injured reserve list and reactivated at any time. The option of reactivation does not apply to a replacement import. So if Fuller is activated, Blakely could be put on hold in case it becomes necessary to reactivate him. If that happens, Blackwater will need to extend Blakely’s contract.

Blakely brought two Governors Cup titles to San Mig Coffee so he has championship experience. But in the last Governors Cup, he came in as a replacement import for TNT’s last five games in the eliminations and the KaTropa failed to advance to the playoffs. TNT fell a win shy of a tie for the eighth and last quarterfinals slot.

Fuller, 29, played for NLEX in the 2017 and 2018 Governors Cup. He was Olu Ashaolu’s replacement with the Road Warriors last season, averaging 31.1 points and 16.6 rebounds in nine outings. The former Iowa and Southern California varsity forward has seen action in Portugal, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Israel and Mexico so his experience as an import is extensive. In New Zealand, he led the league in scoring with a 28.4 point clip and once hit 54 in a game but his team, the Taranaki Mountainairs, failed to notch a single win throughout the season.

Sy said Blackwater coach Aris Dimaunahan will continue to be backed up by assistants Ariel Vanguardia and Gilbert Lao. But he has given strict orders to conform to FIBA playing standards. “I’ve given instructions to follow the European style similar to what we saw at the FIBA World Cup and the Terrific 12,” he said. “I’ll trade away anyone who can’t follow the Euro brand of play and rebuild the team. No more isolation with less dribbling, more three-point shots and quick passes. No more than three dribbles with hard picks, quick cuts and drives.”

Against NLEX in Sta. Rosa last Sunday, Blackwater sizzled from beyond the arc, knocking down 19-of-41 treys. Bobby Ray Parks and Paul Desiderio hit six apiece. Carl Bryan Cruz and Allein Maliksi contributed two triples each. Roi Sumang, Mac Belo and Blakely shot one each. The problem was Blackwater’s defense that allowed NLEX to score 115 points. Down the stretch, NLEX had more gas in the tank because of a productive bench as the Road Warriors finished with 65 points from relievers to Blackwater’s 28.