On Christmas Day, in a twin bill featuring an enduring PBA rivalry and a rising league powerhouse, Converge made sure to seize its chance to shine.
The Fiber Xers found holes in Meralco’s game all Wednesday night, pounced on the Volts’ personnel woes, and won 110-94, giving the communications club its sixth win in eight Commissioner’s Cup matches and marking a franchise acquisition milestone. Obtained. First.
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“[We’re] I’m just grateful,” interim coach Franco Atienza said of the victory in front of a huge crowd at the legendary Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“When you’re grateful, you work harder. When you’re grateful, you’re ready.” [for anything]. And here we are, grateful to be able to perform on such an important day as Christmas. [so] We can inspire and give glory back to the creator,” the new coach said.
Converge, a young club that played in its first-ever Christmas Day showcase on the shoulders of Jordan Header, desperately tried to survive without Raymond Almazan and Brandon Bates, and even with all its stars. They pulled away from the Bolts team, which worked hard. I just returned from an injury.
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Heading, a veteran of Christmas Day games in several other leagues, had 30 points, five rebounds and eight assists, and import Cheick Diallo had 24 points and 18 rebounds. Rookie No. 1 pick Justin Baltazar had his best game since joining the FiberXers, finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds, with Shawnee Winston and Alec Stockton each scoring at least 10 points.
“I try to approach this match the same way I approach every match. That’s part of being a professional. You have a routine and you try to stick to that routine every match. Of course, there’s a little bit of excitement. Yes, but I’ve been used to it for as long as I can remember,” the Filipino-Australian headline said.
put out the fire
Converge started the game with a 20-6 lead, then put out one fire after another to build a lead of as many as 20 points (94-74), matching Rain or Shine’s league-high four-game winning streak. Recorded. .
“As I always say, we just take it one game at a time. As cliche as it sounds, you’re really only as good as the last game,” Atienza said.
“We might claim we’re on a winning streak at the moment, but that’s all we can do at the moment – put ourselves in some sort of situation where by the time the eliminations are over we’ll be in a good position. ”
No.5 is now in sight
“In doing so, we will get to know ourselves better and know how to leverage each other’s strengths,” added the Converge mentor.
For the Volts, the returning Akil Mitchell had 29 points and 18 rebounds, and Bon Quinto added 23 points, 13 of which came in a heroic third period that tested the Fiber Xers.
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Cliff Hodge scored 10 points, while Cornerstone’s Chris Newsome had a lackluster night with only 9 points and 5 boards as the Philippine Cup favorites absorbed their second straight setback and finished 3-3. I slipped into 2.
Converge will look to make it their fifth straight win against another strong opponent on January 11th on TNT. The FiberXers will then take on Rain or Shine, Blackwater, and San Miguel to finish the elimination round.
