CHICAGO - In our line of work, this news is a headline, the kind where man bit the dog instead of the other way around.
It happened Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium where a perennial PBA punching bag got tired of being bullied and decided to hit back hard.
And it was a knockout.
Blackwater 126. San Miguel 120.
READ: Barefield, Andrade complete stunning Blackwater upset over SMB
Frankly, I am not sure which feat is more stunning: The Bossing scoring that many points or them beating the mighty Beermen.
LOOKING ELITE?
Equally impressive was how Blackwater overcame a 44-27 third quarter onslaught by San Miguel and then surviving a battle where the Beermen 'Big Three' of Bennie Boatwright, June Mar Fajardo, and CJPerez combined for 90 points.
This is only the Bossing's second win over SMB in the last 578 days, but they just won’t be denied.
Although they struggled from threes, hitting only 7-of-25, Blackwater swished 5-of-9 from 4-point distance and 43-of-89 overall (48.3-percent).
Robert Upshaw III, their lumbering giant of an import, hauled in 35 points, while Sedrick Barefied pumped in 29.
Great contributions from Christian David, CJ Austria, BJ Andrade, Abu Tratter, and Paul Zamar summed up to 60 points.
But the real key to this victory was the Bossing keeping their poise after losing a 22-point lead to trail 94-92 entering the fourth quarter.
THAT LOVING FEELING.
“I encouraged them to keep fighting, to continue to trust each other, and execute the plays we’ve worked hard in practice,” Blackwater head coach Pat Aquino told me in a telephone interview.
Drenched in water inside a jubilant locker room where his players celebrated his first victory as PBA head coach, Aquino shared a couple things on his mind.
“I hope our players remember this winning feeling. And as a whole we want to carry this winning attitude moving moving forward," he said.
The Bossing went from losing by 56 points to Rain or Shine last March 31 to beating the league’s winningest franchise in the space of just 22 days.
There’s a term for such anomaly.
A quick turnaround.
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