Hard work keys Bossing victory

Even an incomplete roster did not stop Blackwater from sending a strong message in the 47th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.

Bossing head coach Ariel Vanguardia said their stunning 85-78 victory over titleholder TNT Tropang Giga was simply a manifestation of how serious they are in erasing their image as a mere bottom-feeder squad.

“They have adjusted well with one another and all of it is because of our hard work,” Vanguardia said.

“We really worked during our pre-season, we started really early, we trained for two months and a half.”

“This team has a little room for error. Until we can say that we are strong or we have a solid lineup, our room for error is slim.”

Although Blackwater ended a league-worst 29-game losing skid with a 101-100 win over Magnolia last March, misfortune still haunted Vanguardia’s side in the preseason.

Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, this year’s first overall pick, suffered a fractured middle finger that forced him to miss at least three games this conference.

Energy guy Paul Desiderio is also in sickbay after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament in a friendly match while backup big man Andre Paras called it quits after just a year in the league.

But their lack of players hardly affected them as veteran guard JV Casio displayed his vintage form and went on a shooting spree in the fourth against the Tropang Giga.

Despite the win, Casio said they still cannot afford to get too complacent as they are up for another task against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Sunday.

“It’s a good win against a very good team, but it’s just one game. We still have more to go and that’s our focus,” Casio said.