Bossing coach remains upbeat

Blackwater is looking forward to a fresh start in the second round in its pursuit of a playoffs seat in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup.

Stumbling in their last three games after a strong 2-0 start, the Bossing remain in high spirits as they head to the crucial stretch for a quarterfinals berth in the season-ending tournament.

“I just told them to forget about what happened in our losses. Learn from them. Again, prove everybody wrong that we’re not just the team that won the first two games,” Blackwater head coach Pat Aquino said during his appearance on the DAILY TRIBUNE’s Off the Court on Thursday.

“(I told them) it’s about your personality, your character, and how you respond. Let’s just help one another. Let’s put in more effort, be accountable, and communicate more. As far as I’m concerned, we have the talent to prove that we can play better,” added Aquino, who is in his first tournament as mentor after serving an interim role in the Commissioner’s Cup as replacement for Jeff Cariaso.

The Bossing closed the first round of the double-round robin group stage with a 2-3 win-loss record in fourth spot in Group B.

Blackwater, behind import Kentrell Barkley, Sedrick Barefield and RK Ilagan, surprised the field with a shocker of an opener when it blew out Rain or Shine, 131-108.

The Bossing proved that their dominating win was no fluke when they followed it up with an 89-81 stunner over Magnolia.

But it didn’t last long after Blackwater fell short in a tightly contested ball game against Meralco, 114-116. The Bossing got clobbered by Barangay Ginebra, 85-115, before losing to Phoenix, 93-102, to end the elimination round opening salvo.

For Aquino, those losses gave them good lessons to carry into the next games.

“Yes, we learned a lot in this first round. I know that tough loss against Meralco affected us. After that, we kind of hit the wall, especially against Ginebra, the champion team. We really prepared, but they knew what we were going to do,” the three-time Southeast Asian Games women’s basketball champion mentor said.

Blackwater will get a week of preparation before its rematch against the Fuel Masters on 5 August.

And Aquino expects payback.

“As far as I’m concerned, the kids really want to bounce back. I know we can recover and prepare well for the second round of this conference,” he said.

“We’ve already proven that we can win. We just have to get that feeling back — that desire to win and prove to everybody that this is a new Blackwater team.”