Barefield, King lift Bossing over Bolts for 1st win

MANILA, Philippines -- Sedrick Barefield and George King combined for 65 points to power the Blackwater Bossing over the Meralco Bolts, 114-98, to finally tally a win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Barefield finished with 33 points, nine assists and five rebounds, while King had 32 points and 14 rebounds. The duo combined for 21-of-40 from the field.

Blackwater thus entered the win column at last after four outings, while the import-less Meralco dropped to 3-1.

The Bolts led by one, 86-85, after a 3-pointer by Chris Newsome with about nine minutes left in the game.

But the Bossing erupted with an 11-1 run capped by an and-one play by Barefield to grab a nine-point lead, 96-87.

With the momentum firmly on their side, Blackwater, led by Barefield and King, ran away and continued to pounce on the Bolts.

Newsome tried to will Meralco back into the game, but timely shots by James Kwekuteye put the icing on the upset cake.

Christian David had a productive evening for the Bossing, finishing with 17 points, four rebounds, two blocks, a steal and an assist. Kwekuteye had all of his 10 points in the second half, including seven in the last two minutes.

Newsome powered the Bolts with 22 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists, while Quinto had 19. Cliff Hodge and Aaron Black had 13 and 12, respectively.

Blackwater will try to keep it going against the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday, 5 p.m., at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Meralco, for its part, will have a lengthy layoff and will return to action against Converge on Christmas Day at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.