Blackwater head coach Ariel Vanguardia could only wish to have given his wards the victory they so deserved as he saw how much work the entire team had put in during their buildup for the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup resumption.
The Bossing had a legitimate shot of finally ending their record 24-game losing skid against Terrafirma, only to lose hold of a 12-point advantage in the final 5:25 and eventually absorb a deflating 109-103 defeat.
“I really wish to have given the players this victory,” he told Tiebreaker Times hours after the match. “We worked really hard in practice. Talagang tinatrabaho namin, kaya medyo masakit na ‘di namin nakuha.
“The effort was there. We won the rebounding game (57-53), and we also got 21 assists,” he added.
“They worked hard for it, just fell short.”
As painful as the loss was, however, Vanguardia and his wards are simply choosing to look at the positive side of things instead.
On top of which is the way new import Shawn Glover delivered. A replacement for the injured Jaylen Bond, the American forward poured 35 points on 50-percent shooting and 17 rebounds in over 40 minutes of play.
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Then there’s also the noteworthy debut of Gilas draftee Rey Suerte, who made 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists off the bench.
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“We played well for forty-three minutes, but we just couldn’t close this one out. But we’d rather dwell on the positives,” said Vanguardia.
“We have the right import now, and we have a good addition in Suerte.”
Besides those two, Vanguardia is also glad about the fact that his lead floor generals in Baser Amer and JVee Casio are healthy once again. The two suffered leg injuries during the early part of the conference last year.
Amer supplied 13 points on three triples, while Casio came off the bench and chipped in five markers and six assists.
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Then, there’s also the effort he saw from veterans Justin Melton and Jay Washington, as well as sophomore big man Barkley Ebona.
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Ebona made 10 points and six rebounds, as Washington added six points, six boards, four dimes, a steal, and a block. Melton, though scoreless, contributed with eight caroms, four feeds, and a pair of steals.
“Casio and Amer are healthy. And we have guys willing to sacrifice for the team by doing the dirty work in Melton, J-Wash, and Ebona.”
