The Converge FiberXers were heading into the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals—until they weren’t.
By now, PBA fans know what happened. The FiberXers let a won game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel slip away in so many ways, from Archie Concepcion fouling RJ Abarrientos on a trey, to Alec Stockton fouling Jeremiah Gray from downtown, to Justine Baltazar splitting an all-important pair of freebies, to Mike Garcia surrendering an open three-pointer to Stephen Holt by stunting on a well-covered Abarrientos.
Heartbreak to Make Converge Stronger, Says Super Rookie
It was a heartbreaking way to lose, to say the least, especially for a team that’s still relatively young like Converge. It doesn’t mean the FiberXers will be broken by it—not in the least, according to super rookie Juan Gomez de Liaño.
“We’ll just have to keep our heads up and focus on the next conference,” said JGDL, who nearly willed Converge to its first-ever semis stint with a spectacular endgame and overtime against Ginebra. “For sure, this is a great experience for us and will make us strong as a team.”
To be fair, the FiberXers are a pretty strong team already. That JGDL and company took a talented and experienced squad coached by the PBA’s winningest tactician into deep waters is proof of that. But Gomez de Liaño knows Converge will need to clean up a few things if it is to take that proverbial next step.
A Hard Lesson to Take Moving Forward
Gomez de Liaño, who fired 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime in that fateful loss, later acknowledged that the FiberXers shot themselves in the foot and that they’ll need to take note of those lessons moving forward.
“We just had unnecessary mistakes that could have been avoided,” JGDL admitted afterward. “It’s a good experience, so we’ve got to take the lessons learned. It’s on to the next conference.”
The good thing for Converge is that it will have more than enough time to digest those lessons and prepare for the wars ahead, as the PBA Commissioner’s Cup is scheduled to begin in March
