By REYNALD MAGALLON
Blackwater head coach Pat Aquino shut down the noise from the trade rumors involving Sedrick Barefield and Christian David during the offseason, stressing that the two stars are staying put at least until the end of the season.
Barefield and David were two of the biggest names rumored to be moved during the league break but the Bossing ended up keeping the two and decided to see first how things would fare in the season-ending Governors’ Cup.
Barefield’s contract with Blackwater already expired last July 15 but was automatically extended until the end of the season. David, meanwhile, is getting interest from other teams.
“I think that’s all rumors again,” said Aquino after the Bossing’s shocking 131-108 rout of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in their opening game
“I think management has backed me up so much. We wanted to prove as a team. Forget about the rumors. Just play the game right now. What we have right now is what we have for the rest of the season,” he furthered.
Although David did not play in the contest due to a knee injury, the game, nonetheless, is an encouraging sign for Blackwater, which got back at ROS which defeated them by 56 points, 151-95, last conference.
And at the forefront of that offensive display for the Bossing was Barefield, himself, who poured 24 points. He amply supported import Kentrell Barkley, who put up a rousing debut of 29 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
RK Ilagan also fired 22 built on three triples.
Such performance, even with the trade rumors swirling during the offseason, just proved that the Bossing are focused on improving during the break.
“I think we had a great offseason. We talked about how we would get back to this conference,” said Aquino.
“I think everybody has the motivation coming into this conference. With KB around, he’s a great help for us being a great leader out there. We hope that we just continue working harder and we improve more in the coming games,” he added.
