CONVERGE head coach and incumbent Pampanga vice-governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda couldn’t have made it any clearer.
The FiberXers are out to win now and in the long term.
This comes after trading for the rights of the #5-pick in the PBA Season 49 draft Dave Ildefonso last week to bolster an already loaded FiberXers side who are already turning heads with their depth and offensive firepower in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup.
Speaking after the FiberXers’ 128-114 win over the Phoenix Fuelmasters, Pineda said that the trade for Ildefonso speaks more about their plans to build on their future.
READ: Converge outguns Phoenix in wild shootout for second straight win
“What happened with Dave, part ito ng long term plan namin. We’re just getting ready sa future,” Pineda said.
Asked if he’s already had the chance to talk to Ildefonso, Pineda responded in jest, jokingly saying that he’s leaving it up to Dave’s father in Converge assistant Danny Ildefonso to bring the highly-touted rookie in, lest suffer the consequences.
“Yung tatay niya po yung papagalitan ko, pag hindi niya nakuha bakasyon muna siya,” he mentioned with a laugh.
Willing to wait
With the team looking good after posting their third win in four games in the conference, and with their own prized rookie in Juan Gomez de Liano clicking with their core of Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar and Alec Stockton, the FiberXers are certainly in no rush to get Ildefonso.
The former Ateneo star is still deep in the MPBL 2025 playoffs where his squad, Abra Weavers, is expected to go all the way to the finals.
And even if the MPBL season wraps up in mid-December, an earlier report from SPIN.ph bared that Ildefonso has a contract until the 2026 season with the Weavers.
READ: Converge faces long wait for Dave Ildefonso after PBA trade
It’s something that Pineda and the rest of the FiberXers will respect as he’s confident Ildefonso will take the jump once he honors his end of the contract.
“Wala pa namang assurance cause Dave still has a contract. We just need to be one step, two steps ahead sa planning namin talaga kaya kinuha namin si Dave. But wala pa pong kasiguraduhan na he will play this conference or next conference,” he said.
“I need to respect yung decision nung bata. Pero definitely tapusin niya yung contract niya with Abra. [At least] yung rights nun nasa amin na,” he added.
“Siguro naman ano rin, he wants to experience the biggest, toughest league dito sa bansa natin kaya for sure pupunta at pupunta yan sa PBA.”
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