Moments after the Blackwater Elite’s 104-98 overtime victory over the TNT KaTropa in their 2018 Governors’ Cup opener on Friday evening, head coach Bong Ramos suddenly turned emotional during the post-game press conference.
For the veteran coach, the win was a massive relief for him, knowing that they had one disappointing run back in the 2018 Commissioners’ Cup – Blackwater were eliminated early with a 1-10 win-loss record.
“Haba ng talo namin sa second conference. Sinong ‘di maiiyak sa panalo na yan?” Ramos pointed out.
“Yung luha na ‘to happiness ‘to. Masaya dahil binless kami ng Diyos eh.”
Ramos took over from long-time Blackwater head coach Leo Isaac back in April 30. From then, Ramos could not get things going with Elite – their sole win of the conference came from an 86-84 win over Magnolia last June 6.
Aside from the win being a great atonement for their poor showing last conference, Ramos felt like their hard work prior to the season-ending tilt – which meant playing in pocket tournaments abroad – has paid off well.
Right after the mid-season joust, the Elite took part and won the Pacific Caesar Pro Tournament in Indonesia, and also played in the Summer Super 8 contest in Macau to further familiarize themselves with Ramos’ system.
“Sorry, emotional ako. Ganyan ako talaga. Kasi ‘di kami nagpahinga,” said Ramos, a well-known coach in the Indonesian pro league. “After the conference laban kami sa Indoensia at Macau.
“Pagbalik one week break then bugbugan na naman.”
With the effort his players have made for the betterment of Blackwater, Ramos is incredibly thankful to his wards.
“I want to thank the players. They sacrificed a lot.”
