MANILA, Philippines – George King exploded for 49 points to lead the Blackwater Bossing in upsetting the import-less San Miguel Beermen, 111-94, Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila to keep their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal bid alive.
King finished with 49 points on 14-of-29 shooting, and tallied 11 rebounds and four assists to help the Bossing force a tie with NLEX in the standings.
Blackwater led by four, 68-72, with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter after a jumper by Terrence Romeo.
King then strung together nine points capped by a 4-pointer as the Bossing took an 81-69 advantage with 1:40 left in the frame, which broke the game wide open.
A deuce by Jericho Cruz at the 10:26 mark of the fourth to cut San Miguel’s deficit to 10, 77-87. But the Bossing uncorked another 12-0 run capped by a King layup to grab an insurmountable 99-77 lead.
"We want to stay alive tonight and that's what happened," Cariaso said after the game.
"We're just going to pray that what's meant to be is going to happen. We'll just do our job and prepare for Monday's game against Rain or Shine because that's the only thing we can control," he added.
Sedrick Barefield finished with 14 points, five assists and two rebounds. Justin Chua chipped in nine for Blackwater.
June Mar Fajardo paced the Jordan Adams-less Beermen with 23 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists. CJ Perez backstopped with 21 markers, eight boards and three dimes.
NLEX will take on Barangay Ginebra on Sunday at the Big Dome for the much-important final quarterfinal spot.
Blackwater, for its part, needs to win against Rain or Shine on Monday for a chance to make it to the playoffs.