Blackwater pulled off a stunning 126-120 upset over San Miguel Beer to snap a four-game losing streak in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Robert Upshaw had a double-double night with 35 points and 17 rebounds as the Bossing won their first game under interim head coach Pat Aquino and improved to a 2-6 win-loss record.
It was also Blackwater’s first win over the Beermen since its 109-106 victory in the same import-laden conference since October 2022.
Aquino, who used to call the shots for the Philippine women’s team, said the team was driven to succeed despite the odds.
“Those guys have been at the top of the top. They know what it’s like to win and what it takes to win,” Aquino said.
“A lot of the guys have had careers that you dream of having in the PBA. That was kind of the motivation today — to go out there, compete with those guys, and perform.”
A layup by BJ Andrade with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter capped a 13-2 run for Blackwater to take a 122-116 lead.
Bennie Boatwright tried to close the gap with a dunk with 1:09 left, but Andrade scored on a wide-open layup in the following play to repulse the Beermen.
Sedrick Barefield dropped 29 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds for Blackwater while Christian David had 15 points.
Boatwright had 38 points and 13 rebounds for San Miguel, which sank to a 4-5 record, while June Mar Fajardo also had a double-double of his own with 28 points and 13 boards.
CJ Perez, who was feted at halftime for reaching 5,000 career points, shot 24 for the Beermen.
Meanwhile, Converge forward Calvin Abueva was fined P20,000 by the PBA Commissioner’s Office after a hard foul against Zavier Lucero of Magnolia last Saturday in their 94-106 defeat at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
It was the second time he was fined in the conference after the FiberXers’ 93-99 loss to Barangay Ginebra, where he made “paldo” (loaded) remarks last March.