Bossing and FiberXers clash after the incident-marred tune-up game

Games Wednesday
(PhilSports Arena)
4 p.m. — Blackwater vs Converge
8 p.m. — Meralco vs Rain or Shine

THE ROAD to an ambitious turnaround begins for recalibrated Blackwater.

And the Bossing intend to get it rolling by giving new coach Jeff Cariaso a winning start at the expense of Converge, a team he used to handle.

Mr. Cariaso’s charges and the FiberXers of Aldin Ayo raise the curtain for today’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup double-header at the PhilSports Arena.

Blackwater and Converge face off a month after their incident-marred pre-season game. In that tuneup, Mr. Cariaso went inside the court and grabbed Aljun Melecio to stop the game and call the referees’ attention on a non-call on the other end. Mr. Cariaso has since apologized for his action and was made to pay an unspecified fine by the PBA.

This makes the 4 p.m. tiff as interesting and explosive as the 8 p.m. main game between Meralco and Rain or Shine (ROS).

Mr. Cariaso landed the coaching job at Blackwater last April after calling the shots for Converge in the Philippine Cup. The Bossing carded 9-26 the past season and Mr. Cariaso’s initial challenge is to build a winning culture.

“It’s not that easy to improve and change especially if habits are a different way. (But) Slowly but surely, we’re on our way and I’m excited for this season,” he said.

Puerto Rican Chris Ortiz, a veteran of the FIBA World Cup, joins forces with a healthy-again Troy Rosario, JVee Casio and blue-chip rookie Christian David in this quest.

The FiberXers parade a youth-laden side led by last year’s Rookie of the Year Justin Arana, Alec Stockton and Aljun Melecio and freshmen Deschon Winston and Patrick Maagdenberg with Tom Vodanovich as import. They unloaded aces Maverick Ahanmisi and Jeron Teng in the off-season.

“We are still a young team, lack of experience but we’re doing our best to address it through repetition and constant reminders to the players,” said Mr. Ayo, who will now be joined by newly-signed assistant coach Willie Miller.

The second game features the Bolts and the Elasto Painters, who are parading debuting imports Suleiman Braimoh and Dajuan Summers, respectively.

Meralco also hopes to bring its experience from the Doha International Basketball Champion to make a run in the import-flavored conference. Ditto ROS, which played in the Jones Cup in Taiwan. — Olmin Leyba