MONTALBAN — Converge took advantage of a Titan Ultra team that softened without star wing Calvin Abueva and came away with the 129-92 rout for a winning start to its PBA Season 50 run, Saturday at the Ynares Center II here.
The FiberXers faced a side that lost the ‘Beast’ in the second due to a hamstring issue but showed no mercy, pounding on the Giant Risers in the said period before blowing the game out in the next for a triumphant Philippine Cup debut.
A total of 62 points were poured in by the crew in the middle quarters toward bursting the bubble of a team that came in with sky-high morale following a rousing 100-96 upset of Meralco in its first-ever outing last Wednesday.
(C) PBA Images
“Nakita natin na nag-enjoy ‘yung mga bata natin,” said head coach Delta Pineda, who won his first official game at the helm of the young franchise.
“In their game, as you saw, ‘yung pacing ng game na gusto namin, ‘yung mabilis ang pacing, nagawa ng mga bata. And I think they enjoyed the game. ‘Yun ang pinaka-mahalaga doon,” the incumbent Pampanga Vice Governor added.
Juan Gomez de Liano starred in the romping with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists to become the first rookie to notch a triple-double in his first game.
He already had a 10-4-4 stat line at the half, playing a crucial role in the aforementioned period in which they erupted for 31 for a 60-41 lead.
“Not a bad way to start my PBA career, especially Gov’s first win as a head coach. As players, we’re kinda just enjoying the game. Everyone’s happy, everyone gets their chance to just play the game the right way,” he said.
Also coming through with a huge outing was Justin Arana, who led Converge with a monster double-double of 28 points and a career-high 22 rebounds.
“Nag-focus lang din talaga ako sa kung anong magagawa ko sa loob ng court,” he said. “Siyempre sa tulong ng mga teammates ko, nagawa ko. And sobrang thankful ako sa binigay sa akin na opportunity ng team na ‘to.”
Deschon Winston produced 16 points. Justine Baltazar tallied 15 points as well with 11 rebounds, while Alec Stockton and Kevin Racal delivered 13 and 12 points, respectively, as a total of six players finished in double figures.
(C) PBA Images
And such a well-deployed attack was something that Titan Ultra could only wish to emulate after Joshua Munzon carried much of the load with 31 points.
The Scores:
Converge 129 – Arana 28, Winston 16, Gomez de Liano 15, Baltazar 15, Stockton 13, Racal 12, Suerte 8, Garcia 6, Raflores 5, Javillonar 5, Delos Santos 2, Caralipio 2, Monje 2, Santos 0.
Titan Ultra 92 – Munzon 31, Cuntapay 9, Melecio 7, Yu 7, Balanza 7, Flores 5, Bringas 4, Ambohot 4, Martinez 4, Sumang 3, Abueva 2, Pessumal 2, Ular 2, Barasi 0.
Quarterscores: 29-20, 60-41, 91-62, 129-92.
