ANTIPOLO – It was a no-brainer that Blackwater went to JVee Casio in the dying moments of the game against TNT on Thursday night.
JVee Casio on upset win vs TNT
The 35-year-old Casio scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Bossing to a stunning 85-78 win over the reigning champions to start their campaign in the 47th season on a high note.
“Who wouldn’t?” said Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia on the decision to go with Casio in the endgame. “Sabi ko naman, hulog ng langit si JVee sa amin.”
Casio was acquired by Blackwater in a trade with Alaska last season, and the move is starting to pay dividends again especially against TNT.
“Honestly, we weren’t expecting to get him. Pero hulog ng langit, nakasama siya sa trade last year. I’ve always been a fan of JVee’s game. It was unfortunate last conference, diba na-injure siya. Pero on and off the court kasi, he is a leader. He is our captain,” said Vanguardia.
Casio scored the game’s last seven points including a three to settle the final score as Blackwater completed its breakaway from a 78-78 tie. He also finished with a 5-of-11 clip from behind the arc.
“JVee played exceptionally well. There was a time in the endgame that I asked my assistant coach if we are going to sub JVee for a few minutes because I know that he was playing a lot on the court. But we kept him in there and thankfully, he delivered. Alam naman natin ‘yung kayang gawin ni JVee Casio,” said Vanguardia.
The former La Salle standout played down his performance as it was a total team effort in the win. Casio was also not in a celebratory mood as Blackwater still has a lot of games to be played including on Sunday when it faces another champion team in the Governors’ Cup titlist Barangay Ginebra.
“Sinabi lang ni coach, preparation lang namin, kami lang ang nakakaalam kung ano ‘yung ginawa namin sa preparation namin. We believed in that. The team believed in that also.”
“It’s a good win against a very good team. It’s just one game. We still have more to go. That’s our focus,” said Casio.
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