By REYNALD MAGALLON
Blackwater and Meralco both welcomed their new coaches with a winning debut in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Bossing put up a masterful performance and clobbered the Converge FiberXers, 103-84, in Jeff Cariaso’s debut while the Bolts survived a huge fightback from Rain or Shine in the second half to eke out a 107-102 victory in Luigi Trillo’s first game at the helm.
Blackwater rode on a blistering third quarter run to break the game wide open and give Cariaso a winning return as head coach in the PBA while also ending a nine-game losing streak carrying over from the Governors’ Cup of last season.
The Bossing came out guns blazing to open the second half, unleashing a 22-6 rally that established a 26-point lead – an advantage Blackwater never relinquished until the final buzzer.
“I think it’s really the first game that you wanted to get under your belt a little bit because it’s the first game from a long layoff,” said Cariaso who not only helped Blackwater match its win total last conference but also notch a win against his former team.
“We felt like we’re practicing for a whole conference, ganoon yung feeling so despite whoever that first game was, it’s very important that we come out on the positive note and I think the guys did that tonight,” he added.
Puerto Rican import Chris Ortiz posted a double-double effort of 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while also getting ample support from his local supporting cast.
Jvee Casio added 15 points while Mike Ayonayon chipped in 13. Rey Suerte chalked up an all-around game of 12 points, six rebounds and five assists as Troy Rosario and Tyrus Hill chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
Import Suleiman Braimoh Jr., Chris Newsome and Allein Maliksi all joined hands and delivered key baskets down the stretch to help the Bolts keep a hard-fighting Elasto Painters side at bay and give debuting head coach Luigi Trillo his first win as Meralco coach.
Braimoh made sure to turn heads in his PBA debut, dropping a double-double of 34 points and 14 rebounds – including a booming triple that doused a late 10-2 spurt from Rain or Shine and kept a 100-95 cushion for Meralco.
Newsome, who also delivered a huge jumper in the waning minutes, finished with 20 points in his first game since winning the gold medal in the Asian Games with Gilas Pilipinas.
Rain or Shine, which trailed by as many as 13 points at the half, remained within striking distance with a gutsy pull-up triple from Andrei Caracut cut the lead down to just three, 105-102, with 28 seconds left.
The Elasto Painters then went for a full court pressure which the Bolts easily broke with Maliksi fishing for a foul.
The veteran gunner then coolly sank the two free throws that sealed the deal for Meralco with 18 seconds left to also finish with 16 points across his name.
