King produces 64 as Blackwater exits with pride
The Blackwater Bossing exits the PBA Season 49 Governors Cup with their heads held high as they defeated the top team in their group, Rain or Shine, 113-118, on Monday, September 23, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
George King led Blackwater with his 64 points — the franchise record for most points. He was 18-of-35 from the field — 3-of-8 from four point area, 2-of-5 from the rainbow arc, and 13-of-22 from twos.
King also set another franchise record by shooting 20-of-20 from the free throw line, which also tied the second all-time most foul shots made without a miss in a single game that Wes Matthews first recorded in 1991.
"I went a hundred percent from the free throw line, 20 for 20, but I think within my first couple of free throws, I knew I was like, it's going to be a good night tonight," said King.
"And you know, in a game like this (no-bearing), I had to find motivation, right? And that's what the best players do. And I said, what a great opportunity tonight to play basketball. Essentially, there's no pressure. I know that I'm probably going to play 40 minutes tonight. Let's see what I'm made of," he added.
With the win, the Bossing finished the group stage with a 5-5 slate. Although the team was tied with NLEX in win-loss record, the Road Warriors will be the one to advance to the next round as the fourth-seeded team as they have a superior quotient (+6) in the tiebreaker against Blackwater.
Coach Jeff Cariaso said that it was because he felt that if given the chance, they would have showcased what kind of a team they are made of from this moment on.
"So, the second best (thing) was, regardless of having no chance, I just wanted to challenge them to perform tonight, respect the game, respect the blessings that we are playing. That's what I shared with them and they came out and played well," Cariaso said.
Despite the loss, the Elasto Painters remained as the No. 1 team in Group B and will face Group A's No. 4, Magnolia Hotshots in a best-of-five quarterfinal match-up that will begin on Wednesday, September 25, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The scores:
BLACKWATER 139 – King 64, Barefield 21, Escoto 13, Rosario 12, Mitchell 11, Corteza 5, Chua 4, Casio 3, Ilagan 3, Montalbo 2, Jopia 1, Kwekuteye 0, Ponferrada 0, Suerte 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 118 – Clarito 18, Fuller 14, Asistio 14, Tiongson 11, Santillan 9, Lemetti 9, Nocum 8, Ildefonso 8, Caracut 7, Belga 6, Mamuyac 6, Villegas 3, Datu 3, Escandor 2, Norwood 0, Borboran 0.
Quarters: 41-37; 70-54; 106-91; 139-118.
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It wasn’t the smoothest of starts for NLEX, which found itself down by 11 early in the game. But the tide shifted in the second quarter, where the Road Warriors erupted for a 34-12 run behind the efforts of Robert Bolick, Dominic Fajardo, Tony Semerad, and Xyrus Torres to seize a 52-36 halftime lead.
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Sedrick Barefield paced Blackwater with 15 points, while Richard Escoto added 14. The Bossing, despite falling short in the finals, had an impressive run in the preliminaries, including a comeback win over NLEX, 95-90, earlier in the tournament.
The championship serves as a timely boost for NLEX heading into the new PBA season. Last year, the Road Warriors finished second in the Philippine Cup eliminations before bowing out in the quarterfinals against Rain or Shine. Deputy mentor Adonis Tierra called the shots in their last two games, steering the team to become the second straight PBA squad to lift the Kadayawan crown, following Rain or Shine’s sweep in 2024. NLEX closed the tournament with a 3-1 card, their lone loss coming at the hands of Blackwater.
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