Games Friday:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. — NorthPort vs Phoenix
7:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs Rain or Shine
Blackwater allayed fears of getting too complacent after a great start in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
The Bossing displayed their full arsenal with impressive ball distribution while clamping down on defense to roughshod luckless Converge, 90-78, and remain perfect for the solo lead on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
True to his words, Blackwater head coach Jeffrey Cariaso made sure that his men won’t take the FiberXers lightly to score their third win in as many outings while keeping their victims winless.
“To me, the focus on defense is something I’m really happy about with regards to our execution tonight,” he said of his squad that opened a 35-point lead in a game that Blackwater never trailed.
The Bossing broke open the game right after the first 12 minutes with a 30-14 lead.
By halftime Blackwater, which had five players in double figures, were already up with a comfortable 58-29 cushion.
Christian David finished with 16 points to lead the Bossing while Rey Suerte added 14 markers he got mostly from outside shots — a good 4-of-7 sniping.
RK Ilagan and Richard Escoto got 12 points each while Troy Rosario had 10 markers, eight rebounds and four assists for Blackwater, who dished out a total of 21 assists and got 55 points from its bench.
Rey Nambatac, who played only five minutes last game due to a sprained right ankle, returned to finish with seven for Blackwater.
But Cariaso was particularly happy with his wards’ defensive efforts to stymie Converge’s main gunners Alec Stockton and Justin Arana.
Although Stockton and Arana got 24 and 18 points, respectively, the Bossing gave them a hard time finding their range.
“Tonight, I’m happy at how we came out and defended those two particularly,” he said.
Blackwater put the game out of hand, 70-35, with 6:50 left in the third quarter after Suerte knocked down a three-pointer.
The FiberXers’ efforts after that didn’t matter as the Bossing cruised to an easy win.
“It’s never a prayer to be up that much but in some games it happens. You look back and you dissect the reasons behind that and again we put premium and try to focus on how we want to defend,” Cariaso said.
“We’re not perfect. We still have lots to improve on and especially down when we make subs we want to maintain that same intensity and focus.”
Converge only had one assist in the first half and ended with only 11 and only sank 7-of-23 from the three-point area.
Schonny Winston scored 22 points but no other FiberXers player reached double figures aside from him, Stockton and Arana.
Blackwater is now looking to carry the momentum into its next game against a talented NLEX side on 13 March.
“So far it’s a good start. We’re staying humble, we’re staying focused. We know how quick things could turn, so we’re just gonna continue working hard,” Cariaso said.
The scores:
BLACKWATER (90) — David 16, Suerte 14, Ilagan 12, Escoto 12, Rosario 10, Nambatac 7, Yap 5, Sena 3, DiGregorio 3, Tungcab 2, Guinto 2, Kwekuteye 2, Hill 2, Jopia 0.
CONVERGE (78) — Stockton 24, Winston 22, Arana 18, Fleming 6, Fornilos 3, Balanza 2, Maagdenberg 1, Santos 0, Caralipio 0, Melecio 0, Nieto 0, Ambohot 0, Zaldivar 0.
QUARTERS: 30-14, 58-29, 76-50, 90-78.
