By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The revamped Blackwater Bossing franchise just kicked off its PBA Philippine Cup campaign with a resounding win over the Meralco Bolts, 96-93, on February 28, 2024, at the Ynares Center.
It was a game of runs as Blackwater faced an early deficit in the first half before countering back with their own scoring run to retake the advantage in the third.
The Bossing sent the early exclamation after building a huge 17-point lead in the fourth quarter courtesy of their blazing offensive performance.
However, the veteran Meralco squad refused to be denied and pulled off a stunning comeback when they trimmed their deficit to just a point, 94-93, with only 56 seconds left in the game.
It was Allein Maliksi who put the Bolts in his back after going unconscious from the three-point line, draining four big bombs to help Meralco in a favorable position with enough time.
However, the Bolts failed to execute their plays down the stretch, resulting to cashed free throws for the Bossing that wrapped up their first win.
The debuting Rey Nambatac had a performance for the ages after leading the Bossing with 27 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds.
After leaving the Rain or Shine nest for the first time in his PBA career, Nambatac quickly showed out for his new squad and became their marksman against Meralco.
It was Nambatac who sank the two most important free throws for Blackwater with only 19 seconds remaining, pushing their lead back to three points.
His 10 assists were also his new career-high and is now embracing his role as Blackwater’s new premier ball handler.
Backstopping Nambatac in the thrilling win was star big man Troy Rosario who delivered 15 points derived from three treys.
Rey Suerte also sparked the Bossing’s scoring mob and chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
