PBA: Troy Rosario rues third quarter effort in loss to Terrafirma

Blackwater forward Troy Rosario.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Blackwater led by as many as 19 points but only to lose on a last-second shot by Terrafirma guard Juami Tiongson in the PBA Philippine Cup on Saturday at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Troy Rosario, who is one of the Bossing’s veterans, acknowledged the mistakes of Blackwater, saying they didn’t play their game for the full 48 minutes which allowed the Dyip to pull away for the win.

“That third quarter from us was disappointing. We should’ve won that game. We collapse every time we get the lead. We need to play the whole 48 minutes,” said Rosario after their 92-91 heartbreaking defeat.

SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup

“We’re good for like 40 minutes but we can’t finish 48 minutes with good defense and execution.”

Rosario finished with an all-around outing of 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in the loss that put Blackwater in a 3-2 record.

Blackwater lost despite a conference-best performance from Rosario, who couldn’t care any less with his individual showing after his team fell short.

“The win’s more important for me. For me, I help the team in whatever they need every day, may it be in scoring or defense. It would’ve been a lot better if this conference high came with a win.”

READ: PBA: Tiongson thought game-winning 3 only forced OT

But while Blackwater was led by Rosario, Terrafirma leaned on a duo of Holt and Tiongson, who finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

“Our defense in the endgame is really not good. In that NLEX game, we couldn’t contain Bolick. Tonight, it was Juami. Hopefully in our next games, we apply whatever we learn here so if the situation happens again, we’d know what to do.