CHICAGO - After playing only 12 minutes in his PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup debut last Wednesday, Converge unleashed Mikey Williams for 29:39 on Saturday.
Unlike the FiberXers’ 102-94 win over Macau three days ago, Mikey didn’t go scoreless.
But in a shocking 111-110 overtime loss to Terrafirma, Williams was similarly benign on offense, scoring just 5 points on 0-for-5 shooting from 3 and 1-of-10 from the field oversll.
Yikes.
READ: Unstoppable Ali Mubashar powers Terrafirma upset versus Converge
This two-game fog of mediocrity doesn’t mean we will never see the two-time PBA champion and two-time Finals MVP version of Mikey surface in a Converge jersey.
This only means that the ascent back to rarified air will require time to gel with his teammates and completely grasp the system coach Dennis “Delta” Pineda runs.
TRUST THE PROCESS.
Now aged 34 and exiled from organized pro basketball for 35 months, regaining his tip-top conditioning and elite shooting will not happen overnight.
This will be a process paved with bumps and bruises such as Saturday night when the Dyip ran away from the FiberXers in the extra session, 11-0.
Long term , though, Converge will be just fine and will ultimately render justice to its billing as a strong championship contender.
As uncomfortable as it may look now, there is solace in the knowledge that there won’t be many more nights when the defense-oriented Kylor Kelley will surrender 50 points to a fellow import.
And there won’t be many nights when Juan Gomez de Liano misfires for 6-of-20 while coughing the ball over thrice.
BALTI AND ALEC ARE BALLING.
While Mikey and JGdL struggled, Justin Baltazar and Alec Stockton continued with their excellent play and have combined for an incredible 60 points, 30 rebounds and 10 assists in two games.
Which proves the FiberXers have the pieces, their depth punctuated even more with Justine Arana and Jonnel Policarpio on the roster.
All they need to do is figure out how to make the starry, starry pieces come together as one galactic unit.
Yes, they lost to damn Terrafirma, but as the song goes, the FiberXers didn’t lose their religion.
That’s why their fans need to keep the faith.
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