IN a conference that holds a lot of promise for the team, Converge opened with a bang.
The FiberXers clobbered shorthanded Terrafirma, 116-87, on Wednesday at the start of their PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena.
Cheick Diallo showed the way while Jordan Heading showed a glimpse of what he can do for Converge in the blowout win, which saw the FiberXers wrest the lead for good just after Terrafirma scored the first two points of the conference.
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The win was Converge’s third largest in franchise history, according to PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon.
The Dyip were without Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel, who arrived from San Miguel just two days before the start of the conference in a trade for Juami Tiongson and Drei Cahilig.
Romeo showed up in street clothes and stayed on the bench of the depleted Dyip, who were also without Christian Standhardinger. The Fil-German was listed on the team’s injured/reserve list.
Diallo had 25 points and 16 rebounds in his debut while Justin Arana scored 10 of his 16 points in the breakaway first quarter while also adding 12 rebounds.
The game also saw the PBA debut of Jordan Heading where he had eight points, four rebounds, and six assists against the team that drafted him first in the PBA Season 46 Rookie Draft.
“More than the win, we look at the process, we look at how we played today. Basing on this, we shot 51 [percent] from the field, we outrebounded them by half, assists is a good number, it’s a good overall game for us. Good first game. We dictated the pace pretty well,” said Converge coach Franco Atienza.
Converge led by as many as 33 points, nearly eclipsing the biggest win in its young history when it won by 32 points, 127-95, over Terrafirma just last August 21, 2024.
Rookie CJ Catapusan led the Dyip with 13 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Import Ryan Earl Richard had 11 points and 10 rebounds, but only shot 5-of-16 from the field.
The scores:
Converge 116 – Diallo 25, Arana 16, Santos 12, Nieto 11, Heading 8, Winston 7, Stockton 7, Ambohot 6, Vigan-Fleming 6, Andrade 5, Racal 5, Fornilos 3, Javillonar 3, Delos Santos 2, Cabagnot 0.
Terrafirma 87 – Catapusan 13, Sangalang 11, Pringle 11, Nonoy 11, Richards 10, Carino 8, Hernandez 6, Ramos 5, Melecio 4, Paraiso 3, Ferrer 3, Zaldivar 2, Hanapi 0.
Quarters: 34-16; 59-42; 86-67; 116-87.
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