BLACKWATER was bent on salvaging some semblance of pride and showed it with a 102-83 drubbing of hard-luck Phoenix Super LPG Saturday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Troy Rosario stirred to full life in the fourth quarter in leading a sustained charge by the Bossing that enabled them to fully outplay the Fuel Masters and finish their campaign on a bright note.
Rosario scattered 11 of his 17 points in the final stanza, while main support came from Tyrus Hill, Jaydee Tungcab, Bradwyn Guinto and Rey Nambatac, as Blackwater outscored Phoenix, 34-17, to easily raze a 65-69 deficit and even lead by as much as 102-83.
Rosario also hauled down a game-high 14 rebounds with Tungcab setting a new career-high with 19 points he highlighted with a dunk that gave the Bossing their 19-point spread, only 46 ticks left.
Nambatac added 16 points, with RK Ilagan and Guinto chipping in 11 points each. Christian David went scoreless but did corral 11 rebounds for the Bossing, who finally snapped out of a seven-game spiral and finished the tourney with a 4-7 slate.
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The loss was Phoenix's third straight to end the eliminations, dropping it to 11th among the 12-team field on a 3-8 record.
Jason Perkins bounced back from a five-point performance in a 76-82 loss to Meralco by leading all scorers with 22 points. Jayjay Alejandro threw in 14 points and Ken Tuffin 10 boards on top of seven points, but their decimated frontline proved too much for the Fuel Masters.
Already without Tyler Tio and Sean Manganti, Phoenix was forced to go into battle without injured slotmen Raul Soyud,Larry Muyang and rookie center-forward Matthew Daves, forcing coach Jamike Jarin to play small ball for majority of the game.
For a long while, the ploy and their constantly changing defense worked for the Fuel Masters, enabling them to lead by as much as 39-32 and use a 7-1 surge to go into the final 12 minutes with a four-point spread.
Then the Bossing figured it all out by repeatedly dumping the ball to Rosario on the low blocks.
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In the end, Blackwater emerged with a 63-47 advantage off the boards, including a 26-10 dominance on the offensive glass that resulted in a plus-13 count in second chance points.(NC)
