Blackwater manhandles Converge for 3-0 PBA start
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MANILA – Blackwater Bossing relied on a torrid first half shooting to wallop Converge FiberXers, 90-78, in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rookie Christian David led the way with 16 points, including three three- point conversions, while Rey Suerte added 14 markers as the Bossing surged to solo first place with 3-0 record.
RK Ilagan drilled all of his 12 points in the second quarter, while Richard Escoto and Jeth Troy Rosario also made their presence felt offensively with 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for Blackwater.
From a tight exchange early in the game, the Bossing started to pull away behind outside shots from Suerte, Rey Nambatac, and David to turn a slim 9-8 lead to a 22-12 spread.
Blackwater continued its run behind consecutive points from Escoto and an outside conversion from David to widen the advantage to 30-14 entering the second frame.
In the second quarter, it was the turn of ex-Converge guard Ilagan to catch fire for Blackwater as he connected all of his five shot attempts to establish their biggest lead of 31 points.
The FiberXers managed to convert their shots in the third period as they cut the deficit to 24 points, but the Bossing responded with their own shots to preserve the win.
“We a l l understand completely that we have to do and give our best each and every game,” Bossing head coach Jeffrey Cariaso said in a post-game interview.
“Right now, we are just starting, so too early to tell. We are still in the process of learning about each other, ‘yung chemistry namin p’wede pang mag-improve,” he added.
Alec Stockton tallied 24 points to lead the FiberXers, rookie Deschon Winston added 22 markers, while Justin Arana contributed 18 points as they dropped to 0-3./