MANILA, Philippines – Blackwater head coach Bong Ramos did not mince words after his Elite succumbed to a 27-point beating from the Meralco Bolts on Friday, June 15.

The Elite, now out of playoffs contention after falling to a league-worst 1-9 record, could have at least played spoiler in Meralco’s campaign for a quarterfinals seat.

But instead, the Bolts secured playoffs berth after improving to a 6-2 record by breezing past the Elite, 102-75 – the 4th largest winning margin in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. 

“Sabi ko pagdating sa game ngayon, walang ka-effort effort, parang nakuntento sa last 3 games na nag-improve tayo. Para akong binitawan sa ere,” Ramos said after staying for almost an hour in the locker room after the game.

(They did not show any effort. It is as if we were contented with how we played in the last 3 games when we were showing improvement. It is like they left me up in the air.)

“We don’t have an effort, parang ‘di kami pumunta sa game. ‘Yun lang masasabi ko, wala talaga.”

(It’s like we didn’t show up in the game. That’s all I can say.)

The stats sheet says it all. 

Meralco had 5 players in double figures while Blackwater had only 3. The Bolts had 15 more rebounds, 12 more assists, 7 more steals and 4 more blocks than the Elite. 

The Bolts, second to last in fastbreak scoring with 10.7 points in their past 7 games, doubled their output with 20 against the Elite’s 9. 

Blackwater’s performance against the Meralco was far from what it showed when it defeated contender Magnolia Hotshots, 86-84, and when it almost pulled off an upset against the league-leading Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 94-104. 

“Ito lang talagang game lang na ito, bumalik na naman sa dati. So sabi ko na sa kanila, attitude na ito e, kailangan natin itapon yung attitude na yan, flush natin sa inidoro yan,” said Ramos.

(We returned to our bad habits in this game. So I told them that we should get rid of this attitude, we need to flush it down the toilet.) 

However, Ramos and Blackwater will not be given any reprieve in their final game as they face defending champions San Miguel Beermen. 

Still, Ramos said he will continue his plans with the team. 

“I will not stop teaching them. I will not stop giving them inputs, training them to learn. ‘Yun lang. Basta itutuloy ko lang ginagawa ko (That is it. I will just continue what I do).”

The Elite have more than two weeks before locking horns with the Beermen on July 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

– Rappler.com