By JONAS TERRADO
Newly-appointed Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia met with team executives Tuesday, Sept. 21 to begin the process of rebounding from setting a new PBA record for consecutive losses.
A photo circulating online showed Vanguardia joining team owner Dioceldo Sy, team governor Silliman Sy and returning team manager Johnson Martinez during their discussion at the Ever Bilena office in Caloocan City.
The Bossing tapped Vanguardia as a replacement of Nash Racela, who spent two pandemic-marred seasons with the team since his hiring in 2019.
Racela went 2-20 during his tenure, marred by a 19-game losing streak that broke the old mark of the Great Taste/Presto franchise back in 1980.
Blackwater also failed to win a single game during the ongoing conference despite getting Simon Enciso and Baser Amer in separate trades and signing its former PBA D-League player Kelly Nabong from free agency.
It will be Vanguardia’s second PBA coaching stint after handling Phoenix from 2016 to 2017.
Blackwater hired Vanguardia as alternate governor in 2018.
