Four games. Four wins. Safe to say, Cameron Clark has been heaven-sent for the quarterfinals-bound Converge FiberXers. No wonder his coach, Delta Pineda, has only glowing words for him.
“Right now, we have a good import. From the first day up to now, the adjustment… nothing to say with my import. [He’s] our best import,” Pineda told reporters after Converge clobbered the Macau Giant Pandas, 162-108, on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Friday’s win was the FiberXers’ fourth straight with Cameron Clark at the helm, as he arrived with Converge at 3-4 and reeling from a four-game skid. Lately, though, the FiberXers have hardly looked like that struggling team as the 35-year-old forward seems to have taken Converge to a different stratosphere in this PBA Governors’ Cup.
He was at it again against the Giant Pandas, whom he punished with an efficient 32-point effort spiked with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. In four games so far this conference, Cameron Clark has put up 30.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks while looking like a perfect fit with his teammates.
Cameron Clark, Converge Aim for Semis
Thanks to their four-game winning streak, the FiberXers are back in the playoffs after missing the quarterfinals last conference. Pineda, though, isn’t satisfied. He wants Converge to march all the way to at least the semis—and he believes he has the personnel to do it.
“This is a challenge for our team right now kasi ever since we’re only on quarterfinals. So, we’re aiming na sana umabot kami ng semifinals,” Pineda said. “Eto ’yung pwedeng chance namin because we have young guys, [and] it’s a best of five. I think dun ’yung pagkakataon namin na dapat naming kuning advantage, ’yung five games na ’yan. We have younger guys na pwedeng sumabay. [Pero] hindi kami pwedeng magpakumpiyansa, kailangan namin kunin ’yung pagkakataon.”
Pineda is right about one thing. Converge has young thoroughbreds like Juan Gomez de Liaño, Justine Baltazar, and Justin Arana, who are all in their 20s and in their athletic prime. And they’ll certainly have a hand in how far the FiberXers will go. But so does Cameron Clark, whom the team can count on to give his all-out effort.
“I’m just always gonna go out and compete, do whatever the team needs me to do and try my best,” he said.
