COLUMN: Jeff Cariaso opens up about Blackwater collapse

COLUMN: Jeff Cariaso opens up about Blackwater collapse

CHICAGO – After beating Converge, 90-78, last March 6 at the Araneta Coliseum, the Blackwater Bossing found themselves in a happy but unfamiliar place.

No. 1 in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup conference.

It was some sort of a watershed moment in the league where a known bottom-feeder rose to the top. Parity, which had been comatose for years, suddenly had a pulse.

Since then, Blackwater has lost five in a row, falling all the way down to 9th place and forcing fellow cellar-dweller Terrafirma to carry the cudgels for the meek with a 5-5 record and a puncher’s chance to make the playoffs.

What the hell happened to Blackwater?

“We are a young team and a new team together. There’s a need to continue to build better chemistry, understand our roles and learn to level up from guys we are relying on,” head coach Jeff Cariaso told me via text message.

GROWING PAINS 

In fairness, the Bossing have been competitive in all of their five straight losses, often taking leads before being outlasted in the end.

“This is all part of the growth we are in the process of, “Jeff explained.

Sadly for Blackwater, the growing pains are glaring.

The Bossing are dead last at No. 12 in scoring with just 90.9 points per game. They are No. 1 in turnovers at 12.8, No. 9 in 3-point shooting at 30.8 percent and also last in rebounding with just 44 an outing.

Of all their shortcomings, I surmised that rebounding is the least correctible so I asked coach Jeff if his line-up needs more trees and big bodies.

“I don’t see it where there’s a drastic need to get a big but more that we all have to take responsibility in rebounding. My challenge to the players is for them to bring physicality when it comes to rebounding.”

HOPEFULLY, THE BOSSING WILL LISTEN TO THEIR LEADER, WHO WAS QUITE THE STAR BACK IN HIS DAY. 

In a PBA career that spanned 15 years and some 686 games, Cariaso, known as The Jet for his gravity-defying acts, averaged 13 points and 3.02 assists. And at 4.8 rebounds per, he crashed the boards with a passion.

With eight championships – which was highlighted by a grand slam with Alaska in 1996 – a 1995 Rookie of the Year award and a 2003 Finals MVP plum to his name, Cariaso has the street cred to lead Blackwater’s rebuilding.

And he has the pieces in place to muster a turnaround with guys like Rey Suerte (10.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per) James Kwekuteye (8.1 points) Kent Ilagan (8,1 pts and 3.3 assists) and Rey Nambatac (11.3 pts).

There’s also veteran Troy Rosario who has been such a calming presence with his lofty averages of 15.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.

And while tomorrow’s promise is comforting, the present is agonizing.

“We are doing our best not to let the frustration sink in as we believe we had very good chances to be in a better position that we are in now. The focus is to stay positive, patient and continue to learn and grow,” Cariaso said.

Coaches, in a way, are like politicians, they only want to highlight the accomplishments and run away from the uneasy conversations.

Kudos to coach Jeff for his transparency and willingness to address the current travails of his team.

Makes Blackwater easier to root for.