NOT ALL WINS ARE CREATED EQUAL
Veteran playmaker Alex Cabagnot was extra candid on Sunday night after Converge absorbed a tough Game 5 loss at the hands of San Miguel that would’ve extended their cinderella run in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs.
“Us being here at this moment right now? Losing to a championship last team of last year by four points? It’s a moral victory,” he told reporters on the heels of a 109-105 quarterfinals defeat at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
“But you know, especially on my end, moral victories are very difficult to swallow, because obviously, you guys know I’m 41 already. There’s not a lot of basketball left in me,” he added.
Surprise pickup
Cabagnot was a surprise pickup by Converge ahead of the season. The nine-time champion, who won all his titles with the Beermen, is at the tailend of his pro career and was coming off a short stint in Taiwan just before finding his way back into the PBA.
Which explains why he wanted to win so badly.
Beating the Beermen and advancing to the Final Four would’ve put him in a good position to put together a sensational swan song.
Cabagnot was not going to deny how big of a feat it would have been, pushing his dynastic old team to the brink. But he underscored the value of not getting swept away by what-ifs.
It’s for the good of Converge, after all.
“As of right now it’s something that we can build off,” he said. “Going to the deep end with San Miguel is definitely a moral victory.”
“But, you know, I was sharing with the locker room: Moral victories are nice but if you wanna have that championship mindset, there should be no moral victories.”
