John Nard Pinto continues to play a steady role as Blackwater’s lead playmaker in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup.
The former Arellano University court general, in fact, played splendidly in the Elite’s hot start for the conference that saw Blackwater beat NorthPort and defending champion Barangay Ginebra the past week to get off to a franchise-best 4-0 start.
Pinto averaged all-around numbers of 11.5 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals en route to earning the nod for the Cignal-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for September 17 to 23.
The 19th overall pick of NorthPort in 2014 had eight points, seven rebounds, 13 assists and two steals during Blackwater’s 113-111 win over NorthPort on September 19. His booming triple late in the game gave Blackwater, a 111-105 lead, which was enough cushion to weather the Batang Pier’s rally in the end.
Two days later, Pinto’s steady playmaking and timely sniping helped the Elite complete a shock 124-118 overtime win over the Kings.
The stocky Blackwater guard finished with 15 points, going six-of-10 from the field, while issuing six assists, three steals and two blocks in 38 minutes of action.
Pinto currently averages personal-best stats line of 12.5 points, 7.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds, numbers, which he hopes will help sustain the Elite’s campaign to earn a twice-to-beat incentive heading into the playoffs.
Pinto and the Elite, meanwhile, shoot for their fifth straight win in the Governors’ Cup on Wednesday when it faces returning Coach Yeng Guiao and NLEX (2-3) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game time is 4:30 p.m.
Rain or Shine, on the other hand, goes for its first win in the conference when it battles Magnolia (2-1) at 7 p.m.
Rain or Shine is coming off a two-month stint in the Asian Games and the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
In its first game from the long layoff, the team absorbed a 104-110 loss to TNT in Iloilo last Saturday. Head Coach Caloy Garcia wants the team to regain its lost rhythm as the conference gets deeper.
“The rhythm is a concern because we are just starting to train together upon the arrival of our national team players,” Garcia said. “I’m hopeful we’re capable of playing better.”
Six Elasto Painters played in the Jakarta Palembang Asian Games—Chris Tiu, Maverick Ahanmisi, Beau Belga, Raymond Almazan, James Yap and Gabe Norwood.
Almazan, Belga and Norwood extended their tour of duty in the Fiba Asia Qualifier, leaving the team with no choice but to wait for their arrival.
From their recent loss to the KaTropa, the Elasto Painters turned the ball over 23 times—numbers that didn’t sit well with Garcia.
“We have to take care of the ball to have a shot of barging into the win column,” he said. “We don’t want to fall at the bottom of the team standings.”
Magnolia, meanwhile, suffered an 82-95 setback to Phoenix last Sunday.