JORDAN Heading showed the other facets of his game in his PBA debut on Wednesday for Converge.
The first pick in the Season 47 PBA special draft came away with eight points, four rebounds, and six assists in the FiberXers’ 116-87 win over Terrafirma.
Heading wasn’t able to display his outside shooting that he became known for as he missed two of his three-point attempts.
READ: Converge welcomes Heading with 29-point rout of Terrafirma
But the 28-year-old Heading said he came into the match without an inkling of taking a ton of outside shots as his focused was to play his role that includes being a point guard of the team.
“I wasn't coming in trying to jack up a bunch of shots, but just trying to find my guys. That's part of fitting into a new team,” said the California Baptist product.
“Just fitting in where you are needed. I did okay with that. As a point guard, there's still a lot of room for improvement. It’s not my immediate position, but I can play it and I’m going to get better at it if that's what Coach Charles [Tiu] needs me to do,” said Heading.
Heading’s team lived up to the early billing as one of the rising teams of the league after making moves that included acquiring the former Gilas pool member from Terrafirma in exchange of Aljun Melecio, Keith Zaldivar, and a 51st season first round draft pick.
Heading though said it is just the first game of the conference, and work is still to be done over the course of the conference.
“It’s good to get a first win underneath us. I think we got a lot of work to do. Still wasn't really happy with the way that we played but that's going to come with time,” Heading said.
Chemistry is still a work in process but Heading, as one of the point guards of the team, is excited with the weapons that Converge has especially down low where import Cheick Diallo and Justin Arana are capable of dominating the paint.
Justine Baltazar will also come in after the 6-foot-9 big finishes his contract with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns in the MPBL, further reinforcing the paint.
“I’m really thankful. There is a lot of excitement about this team and I think it’s justified, especially with Balti coming in in a few weeks. We’re really excited for that and I know everybody is as well,” said Heading.
Diallo and Arana were indeed a force in their first game. The 6-foot-9 Diallo had 25 points and 16 rebounds, while the 6-foot-7 Arana added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
“I think that’s going to take our team to a whole new level. Being able to play with both Justins down low, let alone Cheick as well. I think as long as we keep moving in the right direction in terms of our chemistry and in terms of playing for each other rather than playing for ourselves, I think the sky’s the limit for us,” said Heading.
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