Who’s the Boss?
Blackwater tests mettle vs dangerous Magnolia
KENTRELL Barkley and Blackwater aim to sustain their red-hot start when they battle Magnolia in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Friday.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
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Blackwater tests mettle vs dangerous Magnolia
KENTRELL Barkley and Blackwater aim to sustain their red-hot start when they battle Magnolia in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Friday.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
Games today:
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5:15 p.m. — Macau vs Converge
7:30 p.m. — Blackwater vs Magnolia
Blackwater is out to prove that its opening day blowout win is no fluke when it takes on dangerous Magnolia in Group B action of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Bossing are looking to carry the momentum of their 131-108 blasting of Rain or Shine last Saturday as they aim for a share of the lead when they march to the featured battle set at 7:30 p.m.
Converge and guest team Macau square off at 5:15 p.m. in the curtain-raiser.
“I think everybody has the motivation coming into this conference. With KB (Kentrell Barkley) around, he’s a great help for us, being a great leader out there,” Blackwater head coach Pat Aquino said.
“We hope that we just continue working harder and we improve more in the coming games.”
Barkley anchored the Bossing’s relentless assault as he debuted with a triple-double of 29 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists while getting a lot of help from the local crew.
“We take it game by game. Even though we won that game, we still got a lot to work on,” said Barkley, who went 12-of-21 from the field.
However, Barkley knows that a rout doesn’t mean it will be easy the rest of the way.
“We just can’t get too high or get too low and continue to work,” he said.
Barkley will have the backcourt duo of Sedrick Barefield and RK Ilagan leading his support crew. Barefield and Ilagan scored 24 and 22 points, respectively, in the previous game.
Dalph Panopio, Abu Tratter and James Una all contributed in double figures last game and are expected to put in the same effort for the Bossing to join idle Phoenix on top.
The Hotshots, on the other hand, are reeling from a sorry 86-98 loss to Phoenix last Saturday, in a game where they squandered a 16-point lead.
Magnolia head coach LA Tenorio hopes the loss will be a wake-up call for his team and not commit the same mistakes the squad did in the Commissioner’s Cup.
“Of course, it’s only the first game. But we have to learn from the last conference where we needed to cram for wins,” Tenorio said recalling the Hotshots’ 0-3 start in the mid-season conference.
Meanwhile, the red-hot FiberXers eye a third straight win and a share of the lead in Group A.
Converge narrowly escaped Terrafirma, 105-103, last Wednesday for back-to-back wins behind group leader NLEX (3-0).
FiberXers head coach Delta Pineda downplayed his team’s advantage in momentum against an opponent that has yet to win after two tries.
“Same thing, we have to prepare. In this kind of league, you can never be too complacent,” he said.
Converge import Jalen Hudson has a lot to make up after a disappointing two-point outing last game.
“I’ve got to give credit to that team. They were ready for our schemes, they were ready for our plays,” said the 30-year-old Hudson, who at least chipped in eight rebounds and four assists.
“I felt like this game was more of an assists game, more of a contributing game. But I gotta give credit to them; they knew our sets, they knew our plays,” he added.
Twin towers Justin Arana and Justin Baltazar along with Gilas Pilipinas guard Juan Gomez De Liano are again expected to lead the FiberXers locals.
The Giant Pandas dropped their first two games in blowouts against NLEX, 75-114, and Jun Mar Fajardo-less San Miguel Beer, 109-123.
