Converge builds contender status with conquest of Ginebra
Juan Gomez de Liano didn’t hide the fact that Converge’s victory over Barangay Ginebra spoke volumes about his team’s PBA Philippine Cup title ambitions.
“I felt like it was a statement game for us,” Gomez de Liano said on television after dropping 32 points in a 106-96 victory on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “And it showed that we can compete with the top dogs, top contenders in this league. So I’m glad that we got the dub (win).”
Gomez de Liano set a PBA career-high in his seventh game in the league with an offensive brilliance that saw him miss just three of 16 attempts, while adding six rebounds and six assists.
Whether he was hitting running one-handers, dropping three triples and a four-pointer, or finding teammates, Gomez de Liano played true to form in one of the marquee games of the eliminations.
“[Gomez de Liano] looked like he’s the best player in the league,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone conceded, before focusing on his frustration over Gomez de Liano’s late basket—a much-debated taboo in basketball etiquette, one that the FiberXers justified later bh saying the quotient would come into play this season.
Regardless, Converge ended up with a 5-2 win-loss slate going into the three-week break after finally beating one of the perceived contenders.
The FiberXers lost to the TNT Tropang 5G and San Miguel Beermen earlier in the campaign, and in both games, the southpaw guard averaged 11.0 points on 6-of-21 shooting.
“I think having an off-game [against TNT and San Miguel] is normal for a basketball player,” he later said at the press room. “I think the mindset coming into every game is ‘off the next one, off to the next one.’
“So I believe we have a chance to get better and hopefully we can continue winning games,” added Gomez de Liano.
Converge returns to action on Dec. 5, with Gomez de Liano facing off against his older brother Javi and Magnolia at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
For Ginebra (2-4), the defeat marked another chapter in its familiar struggle to find the right form in the all-Filipino tournament.
“We didn’t play sharp enough,” Cone lamented. “Gotta give credit to them, they are a really good young team that moved the ball well.”
The good thing, if at all, is that Ginebra can make up for it on Sunday when it takes on Phoenix at University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion for a chance to go into the break on a winning note.
And the game is actually the start of a stretch in which the Gin Kings face teams at the bottom. Following the Fuel Masters, who are at 2-5 after snapping a four-game skid, are 1-6 teams Blackwater on Dec. 10 and Terrafirma on Dec. 12.
