Glover, Suerte shine as Blackwater upsets Magnolia to end drought

What better way to end the season than with a victory 508 days in the making.

Battling for pride, Blackwater ended its 29-game losing streak with a slim 101-100 victory against league leader Magnolia in the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup on Wednesday.

Import Shawn Glover was in his element, dropping 33 points and nine rebounds as the Bossing grabbed their first win for the first time since October 17, 2020, or when they eked out a 98-88 victory against NLEX in that year's Philippine Cup.

Rey Suerte displayed stellar performance with 16 markers and five boards while Andre Paras chipped in 12 points as Blackwater ended the season with a morale-boosting win.

Eager to stage an epic upset, Blackwater quashed a 10-point deficit to take the lead, 40-39, after a triple from Mike Ayonayon with 2:34 left in the second period. The frame ended with Blackwater flaunting a two-point upper hand over the Hotshots, 47-45.

Blackwater built on that momentum in the third canto.

Back-to-back triples from guard Paul Desiderio and JVee Casio put the Bossing up by nine, 66-57, while a buzzer-beater jumper from Desiderio to end the third gave them a five-point cushion, 71-66.

Shots just continued to pour in for Blackwater in the payoff period with Desiderio drilling a huge three-pointer that handed them an 87-78 lead. A pair of charities from Suerte made it a 94-83 affair.

Magnolia, however, put up some fight with Aris Dionisio completing a four-point play to cut their deficit by a thread, 96-97.

Mark Barroca regained their lead after a quick layup against the defense of Glover, 100-99, with 48 ticks left in the game. After a miss from deep by Desiderio, Barkley Ebona stole the leather for a go-ahead layup, 101-100.

A Suerte block on Jackson Corpuz sealed the deal for Blackwater.

The Scores:

Blackwater 101- Glover 33, Suerte 16, Casio 12, Paras 12, Desiderio 8, Ebona 8, Mccarthy 6, Ayonayon 6, Melton 0, Washington 0, Amer 0, Amboludto 0.

Magnolia 100 - Barroca 27, Harris 21,  Lee 12, Dionisio 14, Wong 7, Reavis 5, Sangalang 5, Dela Rosa 4, Brill 3, Ahanmisi 2, Corpuz 0, Escoto 0.

Quarter scores: 16-21, 48-45, 71-66, 101-00.

—MGP, GMA News