AS the mystique of independent teams starts to subside, the familiar dominance of sister teams begins to resurface.
That’s what Converge found on Wednesday when San Miguel rolled to a 114-96 victory in Game One of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal series at Philsports Arena.
Converge and Phoenix have been carrying the banner for independent teams, posting respective impressive win streaks in the elimination round.
But as the midseason tournament headed to the playoffs, it’s the traditional powerhouses that started to gain steam. Although it’s a rare occurrence that the MVP group has no representative in the playoffs, the entire SMC Corp. side has been on a roll.
“Kasi may trend dito sa PBA na pag nag-start, parang nagpapainit pa lang yung ibang teams eh,” FiberXers coach Aldin Ayo said in an interview before the playoffs.
“Mga powerhouse teams, nagpapainit pa lang, naglalaro lang, hanggang umabot sila dun sa point na magiging talagang seryoso na. I’m not saying they’re not serious, pero yung pace, alam na alam nila yung pace dito sa liga.”
“Susukatin ka muna,” he continued with a smile.
True enough, SMB, which finished the eliminations as the No. 5 seed at 7-5, has now won five in a row. No. 2 Magnolia and third seed Barangay Ginebra have won two in a row entering the playoffs.
San Miguel vs Converge Game 1
On Wednesday, the full-strength Beermen cruised to an 18-point victory against the fourth-seeded FiberXers in a best-of-three series opener that saw SMB erect a lead as many as 31 points, 80-49.
The Beermen, now with June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo in tow, looked like a brand-new team from the one that Converge held off, 106-102, in their regular-season matchup last October 21.
Converge, on the other hand, is on a three-game skid after that awe-inspiring seven-game winning run.
After its own five-game win streak, Phoenix has lost two in a row before ending the eliminations with a win for a 6-6 record to earn the No. 7 seed opposite the Chicken Timplados.

Converge import Quincy Miller tried to get his team back on the winning track in Game One as he poured in 41 points, but he made just four of his 14 three-point attempts – to typify the FiberXers’ shooting woes.
“We just missed a lot of shots that we usually make, especially myself,” Miller said after the game.
More than San Miguel’s defense, Miller said it was the law of averages that caught up with the FiberXers.
“No (SMB defense as factor), we just missed a lot of open shots,” the NBA veteran said.
“I think we can do it. We just got to play together,” he continued of regaining their shooting touch in Game Two on Saturday at 6:45 p.m.
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