MANILA — The defending and Grand Slam champion Purefoods Star Hotshots survived a ferocious onslaught by the Manny Pacquiao-led Kia Sorento, hacking out an 88-77 come-from-behind victory in the PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. An expansion club comprised of PBA discards and largely unknown players, Kia shocked Purefoods by erecting a nine-point lead in the third quarter, 52-43, fuelled by just the presence of their world-famous playing coach. The Hotshots eventually caught up with the upstart Sorento in the final quarter with a scorching 25-6 run led by Joe Devance who scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in that period. Mark Barroca added 15 points, eight of them in that final quarter. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. Alex Mallari also scored eight of his 12 points in that decisive final stretch. James Yap added 12 points, all of them in the first half. Purefoods nailed its fifth win in eight outings as it joined idle Ginebra and Talk N Text in a tie for fourth to sixth place in the standings. Kia suffered its eighth straight defeat after debuting with a win. Purefoods coach Tim Cone later paid tribute to Pacquiao for the inspiration he brought to his team in his first game back since demolishing Chris Algieri in Macau Sunday. Barako Bull 97, Blackwater 82 The Barako Bull Energy drubbed the Blackwater Elite, 97-82, to stay in the hunt for one of 10 playoff spots with their third win in nine outings. Blackwater became the first team to get eliminated in the conference after absorbing its ninth straight defeat. RR Garcia and Carlo Lastimosa led the Energy with 16 points apiece while big man Jake Pascual added 13 markers. The Energy were in full control of the game from the start, taking a 41-30 halftime lead before erecting their biggest lead at 70-44. Blackwater's Bryan Faundo led all scorers with a career-high 23 points on top of 11rebounds. Rookie guard Brian Heruela also scored a career-high 19 points in his third game with the Elite. Games Friday: NLEX Road Warriors vs. Alaska Aces and San Miguel Beermen vs. Meralco Bolts.
