Despite the Blackwater Bossing winning their last two games, it was too little too late for head coach Jeffrey Cariaso and co. as the team missed the PBA playoffs anew.
Almost but not quite for coach Jeffrey Cariaso and the Blackwater Bossing after missing the Governors’ Cup Playoffs despite winning their final game against the eventual Group B top-seed Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
[ALSO READ: George King fires 64 points in explosive PBA Governors' Cup exit as Blackwater blasts Rain or Shine]
But in the eyes of Caraiso, Blackwater is yet to find its identity.
“Finding ourselves and finding what kind of team you are is where we are right now," the eight-time PBA champion said in the aftermath of their 139-118 victory to close out their campaign on a high.
Bossing import George King exploded for 64 points in the blow out game that had no effect in their playoff hopes in the Governors' Cup.
NLEX Road Warriors nabbed the final playoff spot by virtue of their overtime win against Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel on Sunday, September 22.
[ALSO READ: PBA: NLEX frustrates Brgy. Ginebra in overtime, punches ticket to quarterfinals]
Caraiso said he challenged his players to ‘show the kind of character we have’ in their duel against the Elasto Painters, highlighting the importance of winning games to control your own destiny in the long run.
“But at the end of the day, how we look at it and the lesson that we learned there is you can never rely on others to move forward. You have to take care of business yourself," he explained.
“The challenge for tonight’s game was for our guys to come out to play the game and respect the game. I can’t say enough of how they played.”
Despite starting the season at 0-3, Blackwater charged late as the decision to replace first-choice import Ricky Ledo with King paid off.
But it was too little too late as they just narrowly missed the playoffs.
The bright spot of their campaign was the emergence of rookie Sedrick Barefield, who ended as the sixth best local scorer in the league averaging 18.9 points.
[ALSO READ: Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield earns PBA Player of the Week honors]
“We’re a team in transition. We’re a team that is still learning from each other and learning how to play in this league and in the PBA and at the same time understanding what it takes to win,” the No. 2 pick of the 2024 PBA Draft said.
“But things didn't work for us [at] this conference [but] we’re going to use this as motivation to move forward and keep growing and better.”
[NEXT: George King to Gilas? Blackwater import expresses desire for Philippine team call-up]