Justin Baltazar makes his PBA Commissioner’s Cup debut with Converge FiberXers. –PBA images
There was little rest for an exhausted Justin Baltazar, who entered Converge FiberXers action for the first time on Thursday.
“I had to do it. The team needs me,” Baltazar told several people before the PBA Commissioner’s Cup game between the Fiber Xers and Northport Batang Pier at Ninoy Aquino Stadium. told a reporter.
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Baltazar entered the court with over five minutes left in the first quarter and it didn’t take long for him to make a basket in his long-awaited major league debut.
The lanky 6-foot-9 Baltazar had just one week left to lead the Pampanga Giant Lanterns to their second straight MPBL championship, a mission he must complete before making the jump to the PBA. Ta.
“This has been my dream since I started playing basketball,” Baltazar said in soft-spoken Filipino. “I’m going to be ready to provide whatever the team needs from me.”
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However, Baltazar had a poor start to his PBA career as North Port lost 108-101 to Converge.
He arrived more than an hour before tipoff, but had to fulfill several duties before finally warming up.
After being asked by the Coliseum announcer for details that would help him going forward, he turned to Northport assistant coach Jeff Napa, who coached Baltazar as a high school standout at National University-Nazareth.
Baltazar then posed for a Christmas-themed photo, followed by a mug shot wearing his No. 19 FiberXers jersey.
Teams to watch
Converge lost its second of four games, but Northport remained scoreless and got off to a strong start to the midseason tournament with a 5-0 record.
However, with Baltazar on the roster, the Converge will finally be considered as one of the teams to watch.
Justin Arana, Alec Stockton, Shawnee Winston, and the rest of the Fibre We started the conference with additional support by acquiring .
The Fibre
As such, Converge have a lot of depth up front in this conference, especially with import Cheick Diallo making a mark for the club.
But on Thursday, all eyes were on Baltazar. Baltazar was seen as someone who could easily turn the franchise’s fortunes around with his rare combination of skill and size.
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While selecting him would mean having to wait for the team to use him, Converge knew it would be a no-brainer to select the former La Salle standout.
