MANILA, Philippines — After a dismal start to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the Blackwater Bossing dug deep and brought the fight to a mighty Meralco Bolts squad to finally tally a win in the import-laden conference.
Blackwater pulled away in the fourth quarter to grab the 114-98 win over the All-Filipino Bolts.
Blackwater head coach Jeff Cariaso said that unlike the previous games, his squad’s fight on Thursday night “was different.”
“Just the fight. No question tonight, the fight was different. You know, when we do things together, and I think we're learning that, when we do things together, anything can happen,” he told reporters after the game.
“And that's all we could ask for our guys is to go out there each and every night, understanding that it doesn't matter who we're playing against. It's always going to be a tough opponent, whether we're super undersized or just, you know, undersized or we don't match up well, we really just go out there and fight,” he added.
Meralco led by one, 86-85, within the last nine minutes of the game. But a massive 16-3 run capped by a Christian David 3-pointer made it a 101-89 advantage with 4:45 remaining for the Bossing.
Back-to-back shots by Aaron Black and Cliff Hodge made it an eight-point lead, 93-101, before the Bossing ended the contest with a 13-5 blitz to tally their first win in four games while dealing the Bolts their first loss in four contests.
“So tonight's fight was something we hope to build on,” said Cariaso.
Blackwater relied on the explosive duo of Sedrick Barefield and import George King, who accounted for 65 of the squad’s total points.
Barefield had 33 points, nine assists and five rebounds, while King had 32 markers and 14 boards.
For his part, Barefield bared that Cariaso shot him a message of confidence before their game.
“We didn't start the conference how we wanted, but coach told me this morning, he texted me, he said, don't let the past linger and he told me that he had confidence in me and that I took that to heart,” he said.
“That kind of just got me prepared for the day to just leave everything behind us and, and try to, you know, give it our best ever today. So I'm happy with the win.”
Blackwater will try to make it two wins in a row against the defending champions San Miguel Beermen on Sunday, 5 p.m., at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.