Blackwater is making the most of its last two chances to nail a quarterfinal seat in the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup.
Blackwater is not willing to raise the white flag just yet as it hurdles its last two elimination assignments to remain in contention for the last quarterfinal seat in Group B in the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup.
The Bossing got one out of the way as they stunned an undermanned San Miguel side, 111-94, Saturday night, Sept. 22.
With that, Blackwater (4-5) climbed back to the fourth spot together with NLEX, the other team vying for the same playoff slot.
"We know the situation going into tonight. Our backs are against the wall. That's how we looked at it. Tonight was just really the guys not willing to give up yet," said Bossing coach Jeff Cariaso.
The Bossing turned to their import George King as they capitalized on the absence of injury-hit reinforcement Jordan Adams (right hamstring strain) and mainstay Mo Tautuaa (lumbar pain) on the other side of the court to pull off the stunner.
King scattered 49 points as the Bossing stayed in control throughout the match.
The reinforcement got down to business right at the onset, pouring 11 points to allow Blackwater to enjoy an early 30-21 lead. He then came through with timely baskets to douse the repeated fightbacks of the Beermen.
King punctuated a telling 12-0 tale in a near three-minute span early in the fourth quarter with a quadruple and a drive as Blackwater stretched its 87-77 lead to 22, 99-77.
The Bossing further hiked their advantage to 25 points, 107-82, their biggest in the match, anchored on another four-pointer and a slam by King.
[WATCH: George King rifles in four quadruples, finishes with whopping 49 points in Blackwater's huge win vs. San Miguel | PBA Highlights]
San Miguel only led once in the match at 15-16 in the opening frame. It never regained the upperhand since.
While King's counterpart, Adams, was not around, Cariaso noted that San Miguel remained as formidable.
June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez took turns in rallying the Beermen while Terrence Romeo stepped up with 15 points.
"As you can tell, even without an import, San Miguel is still very, very strong. We know the case would have been different with an import there. The result, we don't know. But it would have been different," said Cariaso.
"Like I said, the effort the guys put in tonight, [with] George leading us in all categories. Being the import that we need from him was just really tremendous."
There is no room for error for the Bossing, who would have to beat Rain or Shine on Monday, Sept. 23, while hoping that the Road Warriors would succumb to Brgy. Ginebra a day before to secure their playoff ticket.
But the huge victory over San Miguel would have to do, for now.
"We want to stay alive tonight, and that's what happened," said Cariaso.