Their latest shot
DASMARIÑAS, Cavite—Converge would be the first to tell everyone that being so close to a breakthrough PBA semifinals berth is no guarantee that it will become a reality.
The FiberXers closed in on fulfilling that milestone feat yet again with Tuesday’s 105-89 rout of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at City of Dasmariñas Arena here for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five quarterfinal series.
They’ve been in a similar situation twice since the franchise entered the league in 2022, only to waste that precious chance on both occasions.
Juan Gomez de Liaño and the FiberXers get their first crack at making their third shot a charm on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, and the super rookie knows that dealing the Elasto Painters the knockout punch won’t be an easy task.
“I always come out with a chip on my shoulder,” Gomez de Liaño said. “[With] us being up now 2-1, we’re not going to settle for less. We know the capabilities of our team, our potential as one unit.”
“We just have to do the right thing. We have to continue moving the ball, get stops, run,” he added. “That’s the kind of playing style that [coach Delta Pineda] is trying to let us play.”
Gomez de Liaño shook off early foul trouble to register 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the FiberXers, who have fallen short twice: back in the 2024 to 2025 Commissioner’s Cup despite winning Game 1 of the best-of-three quarters series, and in this season’s Philippine Cup quarterfinals despite owning a twice-to-beat advantage against Barangay Ginebra.
Jonnel Policarpio and the veteran Calvin Abueva provided the intangibles as the FiberXers churned out a second straight win to ease out front and gain yet another shot at the semifinals.
Policarpio started and posted 13 points and seven rebounds, aside from playing defense on Adrian Nocum. Abueva had 13 points and 10 rebounds while providing energy and physicality on both ends.
Import Cam Clark scored 18 points, while Justine Baltazar added 15, mostly coming from a strong start in the first half that was a seesaw affair until the FiberXers took command.
Rain or Shine lost back-to-back games after taking the series opener, and is now on the brink of elimination.
Nocum’s first career triple-double looked like a monthly online promo sale of 11 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. But once again, his good numbers could not result in a win.
A big disappearing act was import Aaron Fuller, who scored just four points on 2-of-11 shooting as Converge made sure he couldn’t get into his comfort zone.
Rain or Shine was actually up, 64-56, before the Elasto Painters went awfully cold as Converge scored 12 in a row to turn the tide in its favor.
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