The Blackwater Bossing notched only their second win of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup when they beat the TNT Tropang 5G on Wednesday. And while Sedrick Barefield and Robert Upshaw III got all the headlines for their standout performances, one rookie helped out in his own way—CJ Austria.
The former La Salle Green Archer had himself a memorable PBA debut, tallying 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting while adding 6 rebounds and 2 assists. New Blackwater coach Pat Aquino was naturally impressed, but he wasn’t surprised.
“CJ is a very high-IQ player. I’ve seen it when he played in La Salle, and I knew he would do a lot for us,” Aquino said of CJ Austria, whom the Bossing plucked out of the unrestricted free agents list after he was put there by the Titan Ultra Giant Risers.
Austria averaged a modest 5.3 points in his four-year career at La Salle, where he won a title in Season 86. He also averaged 8.5 points and 1.2 steals in Season 85, when he started to make a name as a steady two-way force for the Taft-based squad.
CJ Austria Makes It Easy for Everyone Else, Says Aquino
Notably, CJ Austria was part of Blackwater’s five down the stretch, joining Barefield, Upshaw, Christian David, and BJ Andrade. Even more impressive, the 24-year-old second-round pick in the PBA Season 50 Draft made two key baskets in the fourth—one to tie the game at 107 and another to even things up at 109.
So, why was CJ Austria in even at crunch time? “He made it easy for some of our players,” Aquino stressed, “and we needed somebody who was like that.”
That’s high praise, indeed, especially for someone who has just played one game in the pros. Then again, Austria didn’t look like a wide-eyed rookie and instead played like a veteran sure of himself.
CJ Austria will get the chance to prove his rousing debut later tonight when Blackwater takes on Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
