CHICAGO - Not even a global pandemic could avert this roll, which has now spanned three conferences.
And as the dangerous Covid 19 variant omicron looms in the horizon, forcing many countries, including the Philippines, to relive past nightmares about restrictions and quarantines, the streak is as robust as it's ever been.
Blackwater had just lost 20 straight games in the PBA.
The latest debacle happened a mere hours ago. Apparently, when it rains, it's against Rain Or Shine, 92-79.
They were up 10 after one quarter, six at the half. But Bossing's lead and momentum evaporated like cheap cologne in the third quarter where they managed to score just 12 points while surrendering 31.
I'm tempted to say this one probably hurt, but being a punching bag for 20 games now, the Bossing are probably numb to all the pain.
But because we love car crashes in a way that we rubberneck and pause when we see one in the highways or streets, I wanted to know why this one went up in flames.
"What happened in that fateful third quarter," I asked Jvee Casio, the former Alaska Ace who now toils (suffers?) as a back-up guard at Blackwater.
"RoS adjusted from the first half. And we did not turn things around especially when they made a run," he replied.
Blackwater underwent a slew of personnel changes in the off-season and that turned out to be - for now, at least - as futile as redesigning the interior decor of the Titanic.
CASIO, HOWEVER, PROVED TO BE A SILVER OF DAYLIGHT THROUGH ALL THIS DARKNESS.
He came off the bench and tallied 10 points in 18 minutes and 46 seconds of relief play. Even at age 35, his best years behind him now, Casio can still be a leader, an asset to what appears to be a perpetually rebuilding team.
I'm curious how many buckets of popcorn former Blackwater head coach Nash Racela must have consumed while relishing his former team's continuing struggles.
But knowing Nash to be a bigger man despite his unceremonious firing, I wouldn't rule him out lighting a candle for Bossing, praying for a swift turnaround.
In fairness to new head coach Ariel Vanguardia, this loss wasn't on him, even though it's always convenient to pin a defeat on the man in charge.
Look, Vanguardia could game plan all he can and preach to the troops with the passion of a fire-and-brimstone televangelist. But he cannot teach good shooting.
Which was what his players couldn't do.
Blackwater made just 33 of 82 shots, a sorry 40.2 percent clip. They made 16 of 39 from 3, which was a great 41 percent rate. But they also missed 12 of 24 free throws.
"The energy wasn't the same the way we started the game. We weathered the storm in the second quarter but didn't have the same defensive mentality int the third," said coach Ariel after I asked him to conduct a brief autopsy of this latest demise.
"Part of learning," he concedes.
Hopefully, for good guys like coach Ariel and JVee, this newly-acquired knowledge will eventually lead to a breakthrough.
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