Reversal of fortunes

From a dismal 1-21 record last season, Blackwater has reversed its fortunes and is now brandishing a 4-1 mark to start the PBA Philippine Cup. A 29-game losing streak was an embarrassment as Blackwater struggled by losing eight in a row to finish the 2020 bubble conference, going winless in the previous Philippine Cup and racking up 10 straight defeats in the Governors’ Cup before closing the 2021-22 campaign with a 101-100 upset over Magnolia.

In the offseason, Bossing coach Ariel Vanguardia shook up his roster and initiated a major facelift that struck out 10 players from the lineup in the last conference. The purge was bloody but Vanguardia was left no choice in trying to turn things around. Andre Paras opted to retire from active playing after a season to focus on his showbiz career. Paras ended his PBA journey by scoring a career-high 12 points in the win over Magnolia. Among those who were struck out or traded were Val Chauca, JonJon Gabriel, KG Canaleta, Ed Daquioag, Kelly Nabong, Jay Washington, Jhong Baloria, Will McAloney and John Ambuludto.

Then, Vanguardia brought in three rookies and three veteran transferees. The newbies are first overall draft pick Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Ato Ular and Mark Dyke. The transferees are balik-Blackwater James Sena from San Miguel Beer, Yousef Taha from Alaska (Converge) and Rey Publico from Alaska (Converge). Blackwater suffered a setback when guard Paul Desiderio went down with an ACL injury before the season started. The 6-8 Rosser saw action for the Philippines 3x3 team in the last SEA Games and brought home a bronze. Ular is a 6-3 power forward from Letran and honed his skills in the MPBL and FilBasket. Dyke is a 6-1 1/4 wing who can also play the four position and came from La Salle.

The holdovers are Justin Melton, Rey Suerte, Jvee Casio, Barkley Ebona, Baser Amer, Rashawn McCarthy, Richard Escoto, Mike Ayonayon and Josh Torralba. So far, Blackwater’s biggest win was a 90-89 thriller over last conference finalist Meralco. Amer, who was 2-of-10 from the field, hit a banker with four ticks left for the clincher. Vanguardia had sent in Amer two seconds earlier to take the last shot against his former team. After knocking down the game winner, Amer put his hands together on his cheek to copy Steph Curry’s “Night, Night” meme. For what he did, Amer deserved to celebrate like Curry.

Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy attributed two factors to the Bossing’s early surge. “First, coach Ariel’s leadership,” he said. “His coaching excellence was shown in the past year since he took over. Second, my commitment to build a competitive team as it’s my dream for Blackwater to play in EASL’s inaugural season. I believe the team is together with us in this mission. We’ve got a combination of young and veteran players, all with big hearts and out to prove something.”

For Blackwater to play in EASL’s first season starting Oct. 12, it must qualify for the Philippine Cup finals as only the top two teams will represent the PBA. The finish line is still a long way off but this early, Sy is conjuring visions of Blackwater rising to the occasion. The Bossing’s next test is Phoenix on Friday then San Miguel Beer on Sunday, Rain or Shine on July 13, NLEX on July 15, Converge on July 20 and Magnolia on July 22.