ANTIPOLO – Delta Pineda didn’t deny being a bit concerned after Converge suffered its third straight loss in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after going down against defending champion San Miguel in a close contest, 103-99, Wednesday night at the Ynares Center here.
“Nakakabahala po. Pero from the beginning sinabi ko naman maybe on papers we have good players but yung chemistry hindi pa ganun. If you understand basketball, it’s not that easy,” the Converge coach said after the FiberXers fell to a 1-3 record overall.
“Yung chemistry, yun ang pinaka-mahirap. We’re like a new team. Ini-expect naman namin ito sa pagre-rebuilt namin.”
READ: Lassiter, Trollano help San Miguel outlast Converge in thriller
Despite the heartbreaker, Pineda is nonetheless satisfied with how his team went toe-to-toe against no less than the reigning Philippine Cup champions.
“Heads up boys, champion team itong nakalaban namin,” Delta shared on what he told the team inside the dugout.
“Matagal na itong mga magkakasama. Lumaban naman ng maganda yung mga bata until the end.”
The game was close especially in the endgame when the FiberXers refused to fold every time the Beermen would make a serious run.
Alec Stockton buried a four-point shot in the final 39 seconds for the game’s final deadlock at 99, before San Miguel closed out the game with two free throws from Don Trollano and an uncontested reversed layup by June Mar Fajardo to seal the win.
“Breaks of the game. May mga shots na naipasok nila, and we have our shots also na hindi nga lang pumasok,” said Pineda.
The Converge coach is not letting this third straight loss dampened the spirt of the team, considering it the best game of the franchise this conference.
“Best game for us dahil yung chemistry nandun ng konti. Tiwala nung isa’t isa nandun na,” Pineda stated.
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