JEFF Cariaso and the Blackwater Bossing are looking for a breakthrough season together beginning with the season-opening PBA Governors' Cup, which unfurls on August 18.
Now on his second season as coach, Cariaso hopes the restart will allow the team to work collectively as the Bossing look to finally land a spot in the quarterfinal round.
Over the past two seasons, Blackwater was able to get two second overall picks - Christian David and just recently, Sedrick Barefield.
Much is expected on Barefield, a former NBA G League guard, who's been being persuaded by Blackwater to join the PBA Rookie Draft as early as two years ago, but the Fil-Am guard only decided to push through with his plans of joining Asia's pioneering professional basketball league right after fulfilling his contractual obligations with the Bay Area Dragons in the EASL as well as other commitments in Africa and Taiwan.
Now the Bossing are slowly integrating Barefield to the PBA's style of play.
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"We played three tune up games already," said Cariaso. "We're slowly bringing him in because the team had already started a month before the draft, so nakakapag-ensayo na yung team, building themselves up to get them back in shape."
"But so far, so good. He's what we asked for. What you see in films, in games, are exactly what we're seeing so far and we're happy to have him and excited what he can do in the PBA."
Last season, Blackwater missed out the playoffs and it has been aching to get another opportunity of playing in that elite circle. The Bossing last reached the quarterfinal round two seasons ago as an eighth-seeded squad when the team was still under head coach Ariel Vanguardia.(RJ)
