Bossing aim to sustain momentum

It doesn’t get any easier for Blackwater following a breakthrough win in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.

Snaring their first victory after a sputtering start is one thing but keeping their momentum rolling is another for the Bossing.

A tough stretch awaits Blackwater for the next two weeks with games against NLEX starting on Friday before crossing paths with the Commissioner’s Cup semifinalist Rain or Shine on 7 May and the runner-up of the first two conferences Barangay Ginebra on 14 May.

“Every game is a tough game for us. Every game is like a championship game for us,” Bossing head coach Jeff Cariaso said.

Blackwater ended a two-game slump after routing NorthPort, 120-98, last Friday.

A players-only meeting following a 31-point crushing at the hands of Converge in their second game lit a fire from underneath the Bossing.

“After our loss against Converge, we held a players-only meeting. I guess that helped us a lot. We talked about what we need to do to improve and turn our conference around,” point guard RK Ilagan said.

“We played as a team and defended well,” he added of the Bossing’s dominating triumph, highlighted by a 40-point third quarter blitz.

But the challenge now for Cariaso’s crew is to sustain what it built last game against the top-tiered squads.

Blackwater only had three wins in the mid-season tournament.

“We have to understand that it doesn’t get easier. We know that for a fact,” Cariaso said.

“As the conference progresses, the goal is to always try to get early wins and as your team is feeling better and hitting their stride, you know every game is a tough game and a tough matchup,” added the latest member of the PBA 50 Greatest Players.