BLACKWATER'S RESURGENCE FACES STERN TEST FROM VENGEFUL GINEBRA

COMPLACENCY is not in Blackwater's vocabulary as it begins the second round of eliminations in the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup on Tuesday with a confidence-boosting three-game winning streak under its belt.

The Bossing have reason to be ready. The last time they had a three-game winning streak, during the opening round of the Philippine Cup last season, the subsequent results were disheartening. They lost the next seven games and did not advance to the playoffs.

Back in the same situation, Blackwater coach Jeff Cariaso said the team knows they haven’t achieved anything after the Bossing evened their record to 3-3 after last Friday’s 110-99 win over NLEX.

"We have to be able to overcome again just any thought of complacency," said Cariaso. "I think we are in a good place. I think the players understand me more. They understand the situation that we are in."

READ How Trillo, Nenad moved past shouting matches, developed winning bond

The next game for Blackwater will be a huge one as it goes up against Barangay Ginebra. Beating Ginebra during their first encounter was the start of the Bossing’s streak with George King debuting with 33 points and 19 rebounds, and Sedrick Barefield burying the key four-point shot in their 95-88 win.

Barangay Ginebra has recovered and has a 3-2 win-loss record, slighly better than Blackwater's 3-3 in Group B.

"I look forward to it," said King on the rematch. "Obviously, it’s just another game. I love to hoop. I love to play the game and also us playing them once already and me being there, we have a little bit of familiarity with them."

"I think maybe they (Ginebra) will come out with a little bit more focus going against us. I’m looking forward to just competing, match-ups, stuff like that. We will be ready," King added.

Along with the winning comes improvement which Cariaso has been seeing in the team. Needless to say, they need to be focused in order to repeat over Ginebra, which is coming off a 110-101 win over Phoenix last Friday.

PHOTO: PBA Images

"Our players are maturing better and improving that aspect where they all understand that we haven’t done anything yet. We haven’t achieved anything yet. The goal is just to continue getting better and improving."

"We know that’s going to be a big opponent versus Ginebra. We have to prepare well for them," said Cariaso.

2024-09-10T06:16:08Z dg43tfdfdgfd