Pat Aquino had to wait for a while to taste his first win as the interim head coach of Blackwater, and it sure couldn’t get any sweeter when his patience paid off.
The veteran internationalist, handed the unenviable task of manning the sidelines of a franchise that’s still vying for respect and relevancy, led the Bossing to a massive upset of San Miguel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday.
That gritty 126-120 decision against one of the league’s giants ended a four-game losing skid in the midseason tilt, although he easily became the story as the result gave him his maiden victory since being appointed to the position.
“One for the books, of course,” he described the breakthrough at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, visibly overwhelmed with excitement. “So tough.”
Aquino took over the coaching reins from Jeff Cariaso some two weeks ago, and the goal, of course, was to try to steer the team back onto the right track as they were, at the time, coming off humiliating back-to-back losses.
But it wasn’t easy. They fell just short against Bol Bol and TNT in his debut, and then got blown out by Phoenix, which prolonged their skid to four games.
Still, the former Gilas Pilipinas Women mentor convinced his men to keep the faith. They did just that, and the crew would reap the benefits of it come Wednesday by catching a big fish in the traditional powerhouse.
(C) PBA Images
“A lot of challenges,” he reflected. “A lot of good coaches around the league. And this is professional.
“We have to be professionals in a way that we gotta deal with it na talagang you have to perform and do your best all the time.”
Blackwater did its best indeed, with heroes aplenty in making the W possible–from usual suspects Robert Upshaw III, Sedrick Barefield, and Christian David, to the surprise sparks such as BJ Andrade and the seasoned Paul Zamar.
Aquino couldn’t be any happier not only with the way they all contributed, but with the poise they showed as a collective, most especially when SMB stormed back from down 22 and even took the lead a few times during the fourth.
“I told them they’re gonna come back. This is a champion team, and Coach Leo is a champion coach. They’re gonna pull everything on us to get back at us. I just told the boys to never stop playing,” said the 54-year-old former player.
“Even though they’re gonna come back, never stop. Believe in what we’re doing, play together, and enjoy the game.”
Understandably, all of Blackwater celebrated in the locker room, giving their new head coach a celebratory drenching in which he gladly soaked in.
Still, it’s not lost on them that they’ve only won a game, and that there’s a bigger battle ahead that the Bossing have to face if they are to vie for the playoffs.
At 2-6, the crew has to win as many as it can in its four remaining outings for a chance at the quarterfinals. Up next for them is Ginebra this Friday, and all of them are aware of how daunting the task of beating them could get.
But Aquino is embracing the challenge–after all, it’s a chance to figure in a chess match against one of the figures he’s long been looking up to.
“It’s gonna be hard for us because it’s back-to-back games against another champion, and of course, my idol Tim Cone,” he said with a grin.
“You gotta set something for them (Blackwater) to believe in what we’re doing here, which is going forward and never backward.”
