Barefield, Upshaw lead Bossing to first win

Sedrick Barefield and Robert Upshaw delivered a dominant performance to lead Blackwater to a breakthrough 97-91 victory over Magnolia on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, giving the Bossing their first win of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.

Barefield ignited the rally in the second half, knocking down six triples for 22 of his 26 points, helping Blackwater outscore Magnolia 30-19 in the decisive fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, new import Upshaw made his presence felt both inside and beyond the arc.

The 7-foot, 250-pound big man finished with 35 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks, including a clutch four-pointer that put Blackwater ahead 91-84 with under a minute remaining.

“He was huge,” Barefield said of Upshaw, who replaced the injured Daniel Ochefu and wasted no time making an impact. “You can see the presence that he had down low, the rebounds, he hit a big 4 down the stretch. It’s just who he is as a person and as a teammate. He lifts us all up so it’s great to have him.”

Blackwater head coach Jeff Cariaso praised both his import and local star.

“That really goes to taking over down the stretch. I think that’s what you need from an import—reliable and able to play at his best, especially in the fourth quarter,” Cariaso said of Upshaw. “We were missing the local support, especially down the stretch, and today Sedrick took care of that.”

Barefield, who struggled in the first half, going 1-of-4 from the field, caught fire in the second, shooting 7-of-12 including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.

“He was very aggressive, he felt good. As much as it was difficult to find a way to stop Lastimosa and their import Nuni Omot when their bigs are setting screens, it was actually the same for them,” Cariaso added.

Magnolia’s Omot still led all scorers with 38 points, along with seven rebounds and nine assists, while Zavier Lucero added 15 and Ian Sangalang 12 points.

Jerom Lastimosa, however, was limited to just five points as Magnolia’s 60-49 third-quarter lead slipped away under Blackwater’s late onslaught.

“I think we just found what worked and stuck with it, and that was really it,” Barefield said. “In the past we haven’t gone to what works, but tonight we did a good job of that.”

With the win, Blackwater finally breaks their losing streak and looks to build momentum in the mid-season conference, while Magnolia drops to 0-3.