Blackwater broke out of its two-game slump and claimed San Miguel’s scalp, 111-94, just in time to give its playoff bid a huge shot in the arm in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Playing with a ton of pressure on their shoulders, the Bossing showed poise and resolve to overcome the import-less but still formidable Beermen to improve to a 4-5 record but most importantly stayed in the hunt for the fourth and last quarterfinals slot in Group B.

Blackwater is now tied with NLEX, which sports a similar 4-5 slate for the fourth spot although the latter holds the advantage with its +6 point differential. 

With that in mind, the Bossing now need to pray for the Road Warriors lose against the Barangay Ginebra Kings on Sunday and they win their final eliminations assignment against the top seed-seeking Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Monday to formally catch the last bus to the PBA playoffs.

Import George King exploded for 49 points to go along with his 11 rebounds to help Blackwater survive a huge third quarter uprising from SMB before pulling away the rest of the second half.

Barefield provided support with 14 points including timely hits that kept the Bossing's heads above the water against an initial surge from the Beermen.

The Bossing actually got off to a good start and led by as many as 13 in the first half, 41-28, but the Beermen threatened and came too close for comfort, 56-57, midway through the third frame.

That was the time when Barefield nailed a booming trey to stop the bleeding for Blackwater. King kept the Bossing afloat in the next possessions before ending the quarter with an 11-4 spurt to take an 85-72 lead heading into the fourth.

The floodgates simply opened for Blackwater from there as it built a lead that went to as high as 25 points in the fourth quarter.

June Mar Fajardo posted his usual double-double numbers of 23 points and 12 rebounds for SMB which missed the services of import Jordan Adams due a hamstring strain. CJ Perez had 21 points and Terrence Romeo with 15 in the losing effort.

The Beermen closed out the eliminations with a 6-4 slate, losing their chance at finishing as the top seed. Depending on the outcome of the Ginebra-NLEX game, SMB can finish either at the second or third spot of Group B.