CHRIS McLaughlin delivered a monster debut of 32 points and 23 rebounds to power guest team Eastern past Blackwater, 84-75, for a 4-1 card in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The 6-foot-10 McLaughlin, taking over from Cameron Clark, was a virtually unstoppable force inside the paint, leading the club from Hong Kong to a whopping 58-22 advantage in the low-scoring duel.
McLaughlin, who averages 22 markers and 13 boards in Eastern's two assignments in the East Asia Super League, continued what Clark started in the PBA's mid-season tournament.
Clark spearheaded the squad to three wins in four games, including the 105-84 domination of Governors' Cup champ TNT last Friday, before being sidelined by a hip flexor muscle injury.
"Coming to the game, I wanted to keep it simple - take care of the paint, rebound, play defense and the rest of the game will come to me naturally," said McLaughlin.
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"I've been here in Manila training with the team every practice and preparing for the moment in case I was called up to play so I stayed ready the whole time."
Glen Yang (14) and Kobey Lam (10) backed up McLaughlin in the nine-point win that lifted Eastern to solo third behind unbeaten NorthPort (4-0) and Meralco (3-0).
The charges of coach Mensur Bajramovic put to waste the 41-point explosion of George King for the Bossing, who stayed winless in three outings.
King already had 31 in the first half, where Blackwater enjoyed a 49-39 lead, but was held to only four in the third in a telling 27-9 salvo that put Eastern back in control. He made six more the rest of the way.
"We lacked the patience and energy in the first half, we weren't at the best level defensively, missed a lot of shots and didn't play as a team," said Bajramovic.
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"We fixed it in the second half, moved the ball better, made some shots and took control of the game so I think we deserved to win this game." (OL)
The Scores:
Eastern 84 - McLaughlin 32, Yang 14, Lam 10, Guinchard 8, Xu 7, Cheung 5, Cao 4, Blankley 2, Pok 2, Chan 0, Zhu 0.
Blackwater 75 - King 41, Barefield 9, Suerte 9, Chua 4, Kwekuteye 4, David 4, Ilagan 3, Ponferrada 1, Casio 0, Hill 0, Guinto 0, Escoto 0.
Quarterscores: 23-21, 39-49, 66-58, 84-75
