Staying grounded
The lopsided result it produced against hapless Macau on Friday and a 3-0 slate to start off the PBA Governors’ Cup was not a cause for Converge to be fully satisfied.
With the heavy hitters coming on their elimination round schedule later, the FiberXers know there’s plenty to be desired even after posting a 149-124 rout of the Giant Pandas at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“Kayod-kabayo gagawin ng mga batang ito (My boys will be working their behinds off),” coach Delta Pineda said when reminded of their coming assignments.
Converge’s next match is on Wednesday when it takes on San Miguel Beer at the Ynares Center in Antipolo to begin a difficult stretch, followed by TNT on July 28 at Ninoy and NLEx on Aug. 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
NLEx and Converge have identical records to share the lead in Group A of the season-ending conference.
Justin Arana anchored the FiberXers to another win, registering a career-high 39 points and was once again given Player of the Game honors.
It was the highest-scoring game in Converge’s franchise history, though it was not reflective of some anxious moments the FiberXers had in certain portions of the game.
Converge couldn’t sustain its hot start as Macau rallied to even take a 92-91 lead in the third, before Arana sparked a pull away.
That’s why Pineda believes their perfect slate doesn’t mirror things on Converge’s part. The FiberXers came into the contest having escaped past the Terrafirma Dyip after almost blowing a 16-point lead.
“In this league, you can’t be too overconfident,” Pineda said. “If you check the previous games, (they) were surprisingly close. On our part, we had a big lead, but we almost lost this one.
“We cannot relax. It’s a balanced league,” added Pineda. “Pag nagtiwala ka rito sa kalaban ka, nagkumpiyansa ka, ay laglag ka sigurado (once you become complacent, overconfident, you start a freefall). We have to treat all of these games seriously.”
Macau slipped to a 0-3 record after another frustrating night for the visitors from China’s special administrative region. Adding to the misery was the ejection of guard Damian Chong Qui for throwing the ball at the referee.
Ramon Cao was the lone bright spot for the Giant Pandas with 41 points and setting a league record for most four-pointers in a game with five.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine begins life without Gian Mamuyac when it faces off with Meralco on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Elasto Painters are coming in licking the wounds of a 131-108 loss to the Blackwater Bossing, who at presstime were facing the Magnolia Hotshots.
They are also playing a few days after sending Mamuyac to the Phoenix Fuel Masters for a future draft pick. The two sides were in the midst of contract negotiations before the trade was pulled off.
San Miguel Beer guns for win No. 2 against Terrafirma at 5:15 p.m., with coach Leo Austria and June Mar Fajardo expected to be back after being absent in Tuesday’s 123-109 romp of Macau.
