Blackwater laid its four-game losing slide to rest after catching a big fish in San Miguel by netting a gritty 126-120 decision in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Wednesday evening.
The Bossing actually coughed up a 22-point lead due to the Beermen’s third-quarter retaliation and figured in a tight exchange later, but simply wanted it more as heroes were aplenty and made sure that an upset would materialize.
Christian David and Sedrick Barefield conspired to put them ahead for good from a 114-113 deficit, before BJ Andrade came through with key hits off hustle plays to help widen the gap to six points inside the final 1:26 of the bout.
Then came Robert Upshaw III with the split that settled the final count, ultimately enabling the crew to finally witness their hard work bear fruit–and in the process give interim head coach Pat Aquino his first win at the helm.
(C) PBA Images
“I told them they’re (SMB) gonna come back. This is a champion team, Coach Leo [Austria] is a champion coach,” the veteran internationalist offered.
“They’re gonna pull everything on us to get back on us. I just told the boys to never stop playing, even though they’re gonna come back, never stop. Believe in what we’re doing, play together, and enjoy the game,” he added.
His boys did enjoy going up against one of the league giants, and Upshaw was among those, flaunting his comic yet cool celebration after treys on the way to finishing with 35 big points and 17 rebounds plus five assists.
Barefield fired 29 points, including 11 in the final period, seven rebounds, and eight assists as he played inspired ball against another SMC team.
David made 15 points, spiked by three of the team’s seven triples, and Andrade had 13 points and seven rebounds in the balanced attack in which Aquino received surprise contributions from Paul Zamar and rookie CJ Austria.
Zamar, for one, made 12 points, half of which he made from deep, while the debuting Austria–curiously unsigned by Titan Ultra after the Draft–made his presence felt by finishing with 11 points and six rebounds plus two dimes.
“It’s about contributing as much as you can,” Aquino said. “I know they have talent, that’s why they’re in the PBA. That’s why we give them the opportunity and the time to play. It’s just showing up and being confident out there.”
Blackwater will try to repeat the same magic it had in upending SMB when it takes on Ginebra next this Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
(C) PBA Images
Bennie Boatwright led San Miguel with 38 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in the loss that once again spoiled their bid to win back-to-back games for the first time since beating Macau and the Kings earlier in the eliminations.
Instead, they absorbed their third loss in four games, dropping to No. 8 with a 4-5 card as their massive 44-point third-quarter eruption went down the drain.
June Mar Fajardo had 28 points and 13 rebounds. CJ Perez made 24 points, five rebounds, and six assists while Marcio Lassiter added 16 in the defeat.
The Beermen will try to switch into playoff mode in their three remaining games of the eliminations, beginning with Meralco on April 28, Tuesday, at NAS as well.
The Scores:
Blackwater 126 – Upshaw 35, Barefield 29, David 15, Andrade 13, Zamar 12, Austria 11, Tratter 9, Una 2.
San Miguel 120 – Boatwright 38, Fajardo 28, Perez 24, Lassiter 15, Ross 6, Brondial 4, Tautuaa 3, Tiongson 2, Cahilig 0, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 36-23, 65-50, 94-92, 126-120.
