Cariaso surprised after Blackwater's strong debut vs Converge
At A Glance
- Cariaso said he did not expect to see his wards pull off a dominant 103-84 win over Converge on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Blackwater has long been struggling in picking up a victory.
But a lopsided one, right on its season debut, came as a huge surprise not just for the fans but also to its new head coach Jeff Cariaso.

Cariaso said he did not expect to see his wards pull off a dominant 103-84 win over Converge on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
“To be honest no (expected a blowout win). We know the state of our team. All of them, the current lineup, is pretty much almost the same lineup of last year so they were part of that grueling year last year,” said Cariaso.
“The mindset is crucial on how you want to change that so yung yung focus namin in the last three and four months is helping improve the culture so you can improve the mindset,” added the comebacking coach who took over the helm for Blackwater during the offseason.
It seemed like Blackwater has fully adjusted on the new system being implemented by Cariaso, with the same personnel that endured a nine-game losing streak from last season contributing well in the huge win.
Apart from import Chris Ortiz who posted a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, five Bossing players chipped in double figures spearheaded by Jvee Casio, Mike Ayonayon and Rey Suerte.
“I think what happened today is that guys played a little bit more free, guys were playing together, guys like Rey stepping up on both ends,” explained Cariaso.
“‘Yun yung crucial, you have to be able to play on both ends so that’s my challenge to everyone on our team. It doesn't matter kung point guard ka or big guy ka or import, the idea is you play both sides and you know only good things happen when you can apply that,” he added.
Blackwater was so focused in moving forward from its past struggles that the team was not even aware that it already snapped a long losing streak carrying over from the last season.
More than that, the Bossing already tied their win total from last season right on their first game.
“Honestly I brought it up only once last season because we want to make sure that we put that behind us. I have no clue that we broke a nine game losing streak,” revealed Cariaso.
“All we focus on is we are blessed to get the first one and be ready for Meralco on Saturday.”