Baser Amer and Mike Ayonayon joined hands in the endgame as Blackwater spoiled the debut of San Miguel Beer, 109-106, to bounce back in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The guards dealt the biggest of shots in the final 32.8 seconds, with Amer nailing the go-ahead triple all over Chris Ross. Then Ayonayon hit a breakaway layup off his own steal as the Bossing completed the comeback from 15 down.
Amer finished with 16 points on a trio of treys. Meanwhile, Ayonayon provided 10 markers as the squad improved to 2-2 in the team standings.
“Sabi ko nga sa huddle, this is the best time to beat San Miguel kasi they’re still struggling. Bago pa ‘yung import,” said head coach Ariel Vanguardia.
Cameron Krutwig notched a triple-double with 20 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead Blackwater.
The Bossing finally ended an eight-game losing skid to the reigning mid-season conference champions, a streak that dates back to 2019.
“There’s a lot of times in this game that we could’ve given up,” said the Loyola-Chicago product, who’s the latest import to tally the said statistical achievement since Terrafirma’s Antonio Hester last season. “But we got it done.”
Troy Rosario had 13 points, while Yousef Taha added 11 markers, six rebounds, and three assists for the Bossing.
Blackwater redeemed themselves from the meltdown they had against NLEX last Friday in the very same venue.
“Sa totoo lang, hindi pa kami sanay na kami yung lamang. ‘Yun nag nakikita ko, Kasi yung dalawang victory namin, come-from-behind — pati sa Phoenix, come-from-behind din,” Vanguardia offered. “It’s a learning process.”
Blackwater will try to post its first win streak of the conference against NorthPort next Wednesday, October 12, 3:00 PM, also at the Big Dome.
June Mar Fajardo led San Miguel with 23 points and 16 rebounds in the loss that also spoiled the debut of new import Diamond Stone.
The last-minute replacement for the injured Thomas Robinson had 20 points and eight rebounds. However, he shot 7-of-23 from the field – including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc – as he only joined the team a day prior to their debut.
Marcio Lassiter had 18 points on five triples. Mo Tautuaa chimed in 11 markers for the defending conference champions.
San Miguel will look for win no, 1 against the streaking Rain or Shine (2-1) thus Sunday, 4:30 PM at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Scores:
Blackwater 109 – Krutwig 20, Amer 16, Rosario 13, Taha 11, Ayonayon 10, Banal 10, Suerte 7, MacCarthy 7, Jackson 7, Ular 4, Ebona 4, Sena 0, Go 0.
San Miguel 106 – Fajardo 23, Stone 20, Lassiter 18, Perez 16, Tautuaa 11, Cruz 8, Enciso 6, Manuel 4, Herndon 0, Ross 0.
Quarterscores: 29-33, 61-64, 77-89, 109-106.
