One thing led to another.
Jeff Cariaso has been a consistent part of the PBA since 1995, as a player and a coach. No breaks. So it was uncharted territory for The Jet when he was let go by the Converge FiberXers in 2022.
For the first time in almost three decades, Cariaso was out of the league.
"It was my first personal reset. First time ko na nasa Philippines tayo na wala tayong team. It was really a little bit of a change," Cariaso told former PBA commissioner Noli Eala on the show Power and Play.
Cariaso shared that he used the sudden break to spend more time with family.
But with his pedigree, it took little time for Cariaso to find his way back in the league. His comeback story started in the PBA Commissioner's Cup finals matchup between the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the visitors Bay Area Dragons.
Cariaso said his fellow coach and PBA commentator Ryan Gregorio urged him to do broadcasting duties after they met in a finals game.
"Coach Ryan Gregorio has been so supportive, always encouraging me. 'Jeff, why don't you try covering? You should be here," he said.
"I watched the finals between Barangay Ginebra and the Dragons and when they saw me, he (Gregorio) said, 'You know what? Try covering.'"
To make the long story short, Cariaso agreed to cover games in the PBA Governors' Cup, where the Blackwater Bossing management coincidentally connected with him.
"It's there where boss Silliman [Sy] of Blackwater came up to me and asked for my phone number. He was there because I think he was also watching, and just happened to be sitting close to me," Cariaso said.
"He (Blackwater Governor Sy) came up to me and asked for my number and then four days later, I had a meeting with him, four days after that, I had a meeting with [Blackwater owner] boss Dioceldo [Sy] and after that it just kept on rolling."
That chance encounter between Cariaso and Gregorio during the PBA Governors' Cup finals may have been the first push in the domino effect that landed the Alaska Aces legend a three-year deal with Blackwater.
"Three years will allow us, gives us enough time to jell together, enough time to develop, to learn from each other, to go through our struggles and to be able to find a way to improve on mistakes."
Cariaso assured the Blackwater gave him the freedom to "form the team the we feel is what we want." And while the Bossing franchise is not known to be a contender, the veteran coach plans to turn things around during his tenure.
"We're not gonna just show up. That's not enough. We wanna go out there and win, that's why we're there (PBA). We always wanna make sure that we are a playoff team. Consistently be a playoff team."