ANTIPOLO – Tim Cone was left impressed by the way Blackwater has been playing early in its PBA Philippine Cup campaign.
The Bossing gave Barangay Ginebra a big endgame scare on Sunday night before the Gin Kings pulled off a 85-82 escape in their debut game in the season-opening meet before a huge crowd at the Ynares Center.
[See Japeth jumper bails out Ginebra vs Blackwater]
And the way the once lowly franchise put the Kings on the ropes, Cone knows Blackwater could become even better with its mix of young and veteran players playing together as the conference progresses.
“That’s a team to reckon with,” admitted Cone.
“Coach (Ariel) Vanguardia has that team playing very well and I could see once (Brandon) Rosser joins that lineup, that could make them even better as [he's] someone to rotate with Yousef (Taha), they’re going to be tough for anybody.”
The two-time grand slam winner disclosed he was a bit concerned going to the game, knowing how well Blackwater played when it stunned defending champion TNT in its first game of the season last week, 85-78.
“We know they’re confident. We knew they have momentum on their side. Just watching them on video, they’re really playing good basketball,” said Cone.
[See This Perpetual loss to Letran haunts Scottie to this day]
But the Kings’ experience especially with the game on the line saved the day for them.
Scottie Thompson drained two free throws, while Japeth Aguilar hit a medium range jumper as the Kings erased a three-point deficit to move ahead for good, 83-82, with seven seconds to play.
“I look really smart putting Japeth there back on the court when he made that shot,” said Cone. “But I was really dumb for not playing him earlier.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph