CONVERGE and Phoenix Super LPG gun for their second win as Meralco starts its PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup campaign on Wednesday in the conference’s first offering at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Read our preview of Wednesday’s doubleheader below.
CONVERGE VS. TERRAFIRMA
When: Wednesday, July 15. 5:15 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
FiberXers eye win No. 2
Converge goes for another win after starting the conference with a 105-74 victory over Titan Ultra last Saturday. The FiberXers face a Terrafirma team that could be better than people thought, especially after their recent game.
Dyip seek bounce-back win
Terrafirma bowed to NLEX last Saturday to go down to 1-1 but put up a whale of a fight in the 101-100 defeat. The Dyip outscored the Road Warriors, 33-11, in that fourth quarter to come within one point. They could've stolen the win had import Justin Strings not missed a three-point shot in the final possession of the game.
Unsung hero for Converge
Most of the talk after Converge’s win was the offense of Jalen Hudson, Archie Concepcion, Justin Arana, and Mikey Williams, which was deservingly so after they combined for 63 points in the win over Titan Ultra. But Juan Gomez de Liano actually had a near double-double with nine rebounds and nine assists. Juan GDL only had two points and shot 0-of-5 from the field, a room for improvement for him entering the match against Terrafirma.
Geo a force on the boards
Geo Chiu continued to be dominant off the boards in Terrafirma’s last game when he had a team-high 15 rebounds against NLEX, enabling the Dyip to keep themselves in the game. Chiu had eight of Terrafirma’s 21 offensive rebounds that resulted in a 44-30 advantage in second-chance points against NLEX. Chiu needs to do the work, now that he is set to face Converge’s twin towers of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar.
MERALCO VS. PHOENIX SUPER LPG
When: Wednesday, July 15. 7:30 p.m.
Where: Smart-Araneta Coliseum
Meralco opens new conference
The Bolts make their debut in the 50th Season Governors’ Cup against Phoenix Super LPG after a Commissioner’s Cup stint where they reached the semifinals and lost to TNT in six games.
Jordon Varnado is Meralco’s import for the Governors’ Cup and he is no stranger to the team having played for them during Basketball Champions League (BCL) Asia. The Bolts hope that the familiarity will help them go deep again in the playoffs.
Outstanding debut for Phoenix
Coach Charles Tiu’s wards opened the conference on a high note by beating Magnolia, 98-86. BJ Johnson seems to be a great fit for the Fuelmasters as he had 34 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. His 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range helped Phoenix hit more threes than Magnolia, 11-7. Jason Perkins also connected on all of his two threes to finish with 23 points, a good start to the conference.
Kai is back
Saturday’s contest also had Kai Ballungay finally suiting up for Phoenix after spending most of his time during the Commissioner’s Cup on the bench due to an ankle injury, and playing only two games. Ballungay had a decent game in his comeback game with six points, four rebounds, and two blocks, bringing optimism to Phoenix for the rest of the conference.
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