Columbian dominates Blackwater, 102-90

Rashawn McCarthy delivered 25 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists. #DyipbeatsElite

RASHAWN McCarthy (left) steers Columbian past Blackwater on Friday.

A bitter setback led to a sweet victory.

After falling short in its previous match, Columbian stormed back and dominated Blackwater, 102-90, in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup last night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Rashawn McCarthy paced the Dyip while CJ Perez made some solid contributions on both ends as the team rolled to their third win in five matches.

McCarthy delivered 25 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists while Perez registered 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals to put Columbian at the sixth spot in the team standings.

Import Khapri Alston was also impressive, finishing with 24 points and 20 rebounds on top of a lot of great defensive stops that spoiled the debut of Elite import Aaron Fuller, who flew in the other day to replace Marqus Blakely.

“We had played good defense every quarter. We were able to limit them to just 20 to 21 points per quarter,” said Dyip head coach Johnedel Cardel, whose wards tightened up the defensive screws, making it hard for the Elite to operate.

“We have no problem in our offense because everyone can shoot. The key here is that we controlled this game and played good defense.”

But Cardel stressed that their win was a golden lesson from a miscue in the past.

In their previous game against TNT KaTropa last Saturday, the Dyip made a scorching rally only to fade down the stretch and surrender, 120-125.

This time, the Dyip made sure that they would maintain their composure when the going gets tough.

“We learned our lesson from our previous game against TNT. I think that’s what the players needed to learn, the maturity in the game,” said Cardel.

“Their willingness to practice every game improved our outside shooting. Since we have a good import who can post up and attract a triple team, I told them that they have to knock down those outside shots,” he added.

With the Elite waging a rally, Jackson Corpuz and McCarthy nailed back-to-back treys to push their lead to 14 points, 91-77, in the final 6:38.

Then, McCarthy nailed another huge trey in the final 90 seconds to seal the victory, 100-85, for their biggest lead of the game.

Fuller finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds while Ray Parks chipped in 21 markers for the Elite, who now have a 1-3 win-loss card.