CHICAGO- The mood inside the Blackwater Bossing locker room at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium last Tuesday was funereal.
Nobody died, thank God, but with Lent upon us, something so unholy just happened.
Bloody murder on the court where Rain or Shine painted dominance all over Blackwater, 151-95.
READ: ROS brandishes depth, firepower in 56-point romp over Blackwater
The 56-point beatdown was torrid as a love affair and unforgiving as an old grudge.
It was also historic, breaking the nearly 46-year old record set by the Utex Wranglers who pummeled Great Taste Discoverers, 154-99. last July 12. 1980.
Already on the wrong side of history as owners of the league’s longest losing streak at 29, a mark of futility that ran from October 20, 2020 to March 4, 2022, this latest black eye further stains Blackwater.
AND IT DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY.
But since team owner Dioceldo Sy will not fire himself, the sword will likely fall on coach Jeff Cariaso.
Sy is said to be currently in China and the Bossing haven’t made an official announcement but a coaching change seems imminent.
“Malamang hindi na ma-renew si coach Jeff,” a league source told me via text message on Friday.
Cariaso signed a three-year contract last April 2023, a deal that will expire sometime this month l, I was told.
A fracture in our reporter-news source relationship cut our communication lines since 2024 but, perhaps in the spirit of Good Friday, coach Jeff replied to my text message this afternoon.
But he had little to say when asked about his tenure.
ON THE WAY OUT?
“At this time I’m focused on the team and continuing our work on the court. I’ll be leaving practice tomorrow with my staff.”
I’m pulling for him to hang on but the limbo around his expiring contract is a bad omen.
Normally, in situations like Cariaso’s, a renewal should have already been put in place months ago, several league executives told me.
Finishing 1-10 in the Season 50 Philippine Cup and going downhill at 1-3 in this ongoing Commissioner’s Cup doesn’t help his cause.
I don’t know who’s going to captain Blackwater’s sinking ship if Cariaso is indeed let go.
But assistant coach Pat Aquino, who has carved a path of excellence in the women’s game, makes sense.
His familiarity with the personnel and calming presence might just be the needed balsam for the ailing Bossing.
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