BLACKWATER suffered its first defeat in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup. But not without a fight.
Trailing by as much as 18 points midway in the fourth quarter, the Bossing erased the deficit and tied the tally right before the final minute of the game on a jumper by RK Ilagan.
That deadlock, however, didn’t last until the final buzzer, as Chris Newsome delivered a layup for Meralco's 116-114 victory on Tuesday.
READ: Meralco averts collapse vs Blackwater on late Newsome winner
Blackwater fell to 2-1 in Group B after that comeback bid fell short, but head coach Pat Aquino was just glad that his wards fought back.
“That game could have gone either way,” he said. “A lot of learning experience from us. Just happy with us not giving up and playing to the last end.”
Blackwater tests mettle against Ginebra
A team that made its name through comeback wins over the years will be the Bossing's next opponent in the form of Barangay Ginebra, the recently-crowned Commissioner’s Cup champion.
It will be another test for Blackwater, which started its conference with back-to-back wins against Rain or Shine and Magnolia in their bracket, considered as the tougher between the two groups this conference.
But the Gin Kings are coming off a rocky start to their campaign after they were handed an 81-78 defeat by Phoenix Super LPG last Sunday in their first game with Riley Grigsby as import in lieu of injured Justin Brownlee.
“With Ginebra, we have to be ready, we know that they need to win also,” Aquino said of their match-up on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
“Sana lang we can match-up again with them and try our very best to stay in stride. Coach Tim [Cone] has a lot under his sleeves and we have to counter that with our aggressiveness.”
The first order of business for the Bossing would be learning to keep their leads. They actually led in the earlygoing against the Bolts, 27-13, only to find themselves down, 110-92, later in that contest.
“I can’t say that we (became) rattled, but we fell short after coming back thrice from a big lead by Meralco. That’s not supposed to happen, especially you’re playing in a group and a team like them,” Aquino said.
Blackwater will lean heavily on its triumvirate of Kentrell Barkley, Sedrick Barefield, and RK Ilagan for scoring.
Barkley has averaged 27.7 points and 12.0 rebounds, as the import has thus far been the right fit for the Bossing.
Barefield has also been producing on the offensive end, with an average of 21 per outing, including team-high 29 points against Meralco, while Ilagan is norming 20.7 points on efficient 52-percent.
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