On Friday, the Philippine Basketball Association approved the trade that saw Converge receive Aljun Melecio and Kris Porter from Phoenix Super LPG in exchange for Ben Adamos and Kurt Lojera.
New FiberXers head coach Aldin Ayo said moments after the two camps were able to get a meeting of the minds regarding the transaction that there will be “more to come.”
But what did he actually mean? Who are the players he is targetting?
Well, Ayo shed light to Tiebreaker Times regarding his Facebook post, saying that his ideal players in his first foray into the big league do not necessarily mean players that he previously coached in Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle University, or University of Santo Tomas.
(C) PBA Images
“I spent lots of seasons coaching at the collegiate level. Before getting this job, I realized that when it comes to the PBA, the players in the league now are the players I coached or I faced in college,” said Ayo, who coached in the collegiate ranks from 2015-2020.
“That’s why I’m getting Aljun and Ports and wishing to get others as well is because they were the ones who excelled in college and they were able to sustain it. In the PBA, eto na rin yung mga players na yun e.”
In this trade alone, he got a former Green Archer in Melecio and an ex-Blue Eagle in Porter.
According to Ayo, he did not just want to get Melecio as he coached him for two years in La Salle but also Porter, who was part of the Ateneo team that defeated them in UAAP Season 80.
(C) PBA Images
And don’t be surprised if many more of Ayo’s former opponents end up in Converge.
After all, winning knows no colors.
“These guys are winners.
“That’s the very reason why I want the likes of Aljun and many more, these are the next generation that you know will compete. They have the winning pedigree based on what I saw in college either when I was coaching them or against them,” he said.
