MANILA, Philippines – Blackwater and Phoenix Super LPG are both attempting to establish coherence in their respective PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaigns.

The Fuel Masters or Bossing matchup at 4 p.m. should provide a glimpse as to whether any team is closer to reaching that point. 

At first look, Phoenix appears to be getting closer to the parity that head coach Jamike Jarin is looking for, having won two of their last three games to take a 2 to 1 record.

With one more win, the Fuel Masters would separate themselves from their current tie with TNT and Meralco and take the lead behind unbeaten Magnolia in the standings.

Blackwater, on the other hand, has dropped two straight games to drop to a 1 to 2 record, and it is obviously struggling to break out of its current slump.

The Elasto Painters play Barangay Ginebra in the second half of the evening, but an additional defeat would position the Bossing close to the heels of The converging company and Rain or Shine, who are currently without a win.

The most important factor in this type of competition is usually how well the locals follow the lead of their respective imports.

Jonathan Williams has been a reliable player for Phoenix so far, averaging 27 points, 14.67 rebounding, 5.33 contributions, and 2.33 blocks per game. He recently returned from a 29-point, 18-rebound performance last Saturday in a 99-98 narrow victory over Rain or Shine.

Jason Perkins has also begun to step up his offensive, as instructed by Jarin. He scored 14 of his own against the E-Painters, raising his presentation common after averaging just 5.5 points per game in the Fuel Masters’ opening two games.

Although Jarin’s team led the pouring rain along with the Shine game by as much as 20 points, he is nevertheless concerned about the close finish to that game.

It gets worse for Blackwater, which started the season strong with a comfortable victory over Converge before losing to Terrafirma and Meralco in their subsequent games.

Currently averaging 21.67 points and 9.33 rebounds, Bossing acquired Chris Ortiz and appears to be incorporating responsibility for his own thing. The Puerto Rican’s primary backups are Mike Ayonayon and Rey Suerte, though Troy Rosario, Rashawn McCarthy, as well as Tyrus Hill, haven’t provided the support that was anticipated.