TNT and Converge part ways on Friday in its crucial tiff in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
PBA schedule October 28
The Tropang GIGA face the FiberXers at 3 p.m. with the winner maintaining their third-place position. TNT, Converge, and Ginebra are currently at third with similar 3-2 slates.
Both teams are coming off victories with TNT defeating Blackwater, 108-98, last Saturday, and Converge on a two-game winning streak with a 106-102 victory over San Miguel last week.
The coaching match-up will see Chot Reyes battling Aldin Ayo for the first time in the PBA. Reyes has high respect for Ayo, a reason not to take Converge lightly.
“I don’t regard Aldin as a newcomer,” said Reyes. “I’ve been watching him since he started coaching. And I’m very, very impressed. He is one of the young coaches coming up. I’m not surprised how well Converge is playing under his watch.
Reyes said TNT is definitely expecting Converge to execute its effective running game, and import Quincy Miller also looking to play a major role against his counterpart Cameron Oliver.
“That’s going to be a huge test for us the way they are playing and Coach Ayo’s coaching, but I think Miller is doing a really good job. Their import fits them perfectly. It’s something that is going to be a big test for us,” said Reyes.
In the second game, Barangay Ginebra takes on Terrafirma at 5:45 p.m. with a goal of also going up to third place in the leaderboard.
The Gin Kings are fresh from a morale-boosting 103-97 win over Magnolia. They go for their second straight win against the Dyip, who are on a 0-6 win-loss record and a 22-game skid.
“We are not going to have an easy night every night because that team is going to bring their best game,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “Whether it be a San Miguel, Blackwater, or Phoenix, they are going to play their best game against us.”
“We have to be prepared every night. The moment we aren’t, we are going to get beat because we are playing against their best game,” Cone said.
Terrafirma is out to bounce back from its humiliating 54-point defeat against the Bay Area Dragons, 130-76, last week to continue its losing streak which is now seven defeats shy of equalling the PBA record set by Blackwater that ended in 2021.
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