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MACAU -- Blackwater's unforgiving defense held the Samsung Thunders to just one field goal inside the last four and a half minutes as the Elite hacked out a 78-67 win in the opening day of the 2018 Asia League Summer Super 8 on Tuesday here at the Macao East Asian Games Dome. Despite blowing a 14-point lead in the first half, the Elite managed to keep their composure in the final period with their patient execution and sticky defense that left the South Korea ball club stunned. Raymar Jose spearheaded Blackwater's strong 16-5 windup in the final five minutes, scoring six of his 14 points, all inside the paint to seal the win. The Koreans managed to grab the lead, 46-45, after back-to-back three-point shots from Lee Gwan Hee and Kim Hyun Soo midway in the third canto. Samsung managed to stay within striking distance before eventually giving in to fatigue, allowing Blackwater to pull away. Vastly improved big man John Paul Erram was a tower of strength for Blackwater as he finished with a double-double of 20 points and 16 rebounds. The 6-7 former Ateneo big man also added three blocked shots, two assists and the same number of steals in 30 minutes of play.  Paul Zamar came off the bench to add 11 while Mac Belo contributed nine points, six rebounds and a blocked shot. It was a double victory for the Philippines in this 8-team, 4-nation tournament as earlier in the day, NLEX bamboozled the Formosa Dreamers, 94-68. Kim Hyun Soo and Kim Dong Uk scored 16 points apiece for the Thunders, who shot just 32.4 percent in the game. They also lost the battle of the boards, 37-59. - Richard Dy THE SCORES BLACKWATER 78 - Erram 20, Jose 14, Zamar 11, Belo 9, Maliksi 8, DiGregorio 7, Banal 3, Javier 2, Palma 2, Pinto 2, Sumang 0. SEOUL SAMSUNG 67 - Kim DU 16, Kim HS 16, Lee 12, Cha 7, Cheon 6, Bae 5, Hong 3, Jang 2, Choi 0. Quarters: 21-16, 41-37, 63-59, 78-67.
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