After working together for two years, Blackwater and coach Ariel Vanguardia made an official separation.

During a season that started out with a lot of promise but ultimately disappointed, the management of Bossing and Vanguardia parted ways amicably.

In a meeting on Saturday, representatives from Vanguardia and Blackwater concurred that the franchise required a new beginning.

Dioceldo Sy, the team owner, expressed his excitement for “a very fresh Blackwater Bossing” when contacted for comment.

Vanguardia previously held the positions of assistant coach and alternate governor before taking on the head-coaching position, according to Sy, who stated that the team is hoping to keep Vanguardia on the squad in a new capacity.

Blackwater, which finished dead last with a 1-10 record, limped home in the Governors’ Cup, hurt by injuries to key players.

The Bossing had a solid start in the Philippine Cup, winning five of their first seven games before faltering as they advanced to the quarterfinals.

The Bossing, the eighth-seeded squad, lost to the eventual champion San Miguel in the quarterfinals, 123-93.

In the midseason Commissioner’s Cup, the club again got off to a solid start highlighted by its victory over San Miguel, 109-106, for an even 2-2 record.

However, similar to the all-Filipino team, the Bossing struggled as the conference went on and finished with a 3-9 record to miss the playoffs.

Vanguardia has a 10-36 record in the four conferences he has presided over at the helm of the Bossing (win-loss record).

After first taking over the coaching duties from Nash Racela after the Philippine Cup while still in the Bacolor bubble, Vanguardia suffered the humiliation of compiling the longest losing streak in PBA history at 29 games under his direction.

Vanguardia made adjustments to the Blackwater roster after the team won its final game in the Governors’ Cup last season to end its losing streak. These changes led to the addition of rookies Ato Ular and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, the No. 1 overall pick, Yousef Taha, and the Bossing big men, who helped the team win the Philippine Cup.

Later, the team acquired Tyrus Hill, Mike Digregorio, and RJ Ilagan in a different trade, as well as Troy Rosario as part of the Ganuelas-Rosser transaction.

On the other hand, assuming control of the Blackwater Bossing, Jeff Cariaso is the likely successor.

Despite the fact that no official contract has been signed, team owner Dioceldo Sy said management has spoken to Cariaso.

According to team sources, Siot Tanquingcen, a former coach of San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra, was also a candidate for the position but turned it down because he is currently the head of basketball operations at National University.

The position represented Cariaso’s return to coaching, after serving as both the founding mentor of the Converge franchise after its lock-stock-and-barrel acquisition of the Alaska squad, and the final coach of Alaska before its dissolution.

At the Governors’ Cup last year, he led the Aces to their last playoff appearance, but they fell to the NLEX Road Warriors.

The squad also made it to the quarterfinals for the first time in franchise history in his first and only conference with the FiberXers, only to lose to TNT.

Cariaso applied for the coaching position at La Salle after leaving Converge, but Topex Robinson—also a former member of the Alaska coaching staff—won the position in the end.