CONVERGE coach Delta Pineda said the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup is a big learning experience for the talent-laden but inexperienced squad.
The FiberXers failed to meet expectations after finishing out of the playoffs in ninth place with a 5-7 win-loss record - not the performance you'd expect from one of the busiest teams in the offseason.
READ Pineda blasts foul, FT disparity as Converge bid ends
One of the lows of the team during the conference was a six-game losing slide that hurt their chances of making it to the quarterfinals.
“Lesson learned,” said Pineda recently. “Lahat ng mga pagkakamali namin, we need to talk about it. We need to adjust. We need to be more mature in these kinds of situations. Lesson learned para sa amin itong conference na ito.”
An import change late in the conference from Kylor Kelley to Donovan Smith couldn’t salvage the campaign of the FiberXers despite a talented group of Juan Gomez de Liano, Justine Baltazar, Justin Arana, Alec Stockton, and Mikey Williams.
“Bad for us,” said Pineda. “Maraming mga dumating na hindi namin ma-control na situation. Maraming bago sa team. Then, injuries. Then yung chemistry. Talagang maybe we didn’t perform talaga. It’s all our fault talaga. We need to accept this kind of situaton na nangyari sa amin. Nothing to do but recover to focus on the future.”
Moving forward, Pineda vowed the search for an import for the Governors’ Cup would be a thorough one to avoid a repeat of what transpired in the Commissioner’s Cup.
“Siguro yung problema namin sa import, dapat hindi na maulit,” said Pineda. “Kailangan namin bigyan ng time yung paghanap ng import.”
Pineda said they will also prepare early and play more tune-up games so adjustments could be made as early as possible.
“More tune-up para makita pa namin yung mga pagkakamali inside the court. Mapagaralan pa kung ano yung mga kailangang i-adjust,” Pineda said.
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