Converge head coach Aldin Ayo was glad to see his charges reap the benefits of hard work following an impeccable shooting display en route to gunning down TNT for their third win in a row in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Friday.
The FiberXers nailed 21 triples in the 130-117 victory, which is tied for seventh all-time most in a game and the most since Phoenix fired 22 in its 110-103 win over San Miguel in the Clark bubble, per league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
“They deserve it,” said the young mentor after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. “During the practice, all of these players keep on shooting. Hindi naman ‘yan basta-basta mangyayari na lang eh. It’s all about the preparations.”
What Ayo’s really proud of is the initiative shown by his team in practices — and their very own effort to maximize what they have to hone their game better.
The 45-year-old shared that the players themselves set up the basketball shooting machine in their training ground in Gatorade Hoops Center, and have since been using it — much to the coaches’ delight.
“Lately, hindi ko alam na may shooting gun pala kami sa facility namin. Actually, yung ang una kong ni-request, yung shooting gun,” he said.
“And hindi ko naman pinipilit ang mga ito na gamitin pero on their own, sila nag-set up noon, ‘yung shooting gun na ‘yun,” he furthered.
The results were evident against the Tropang Giga. Converge shot 53.8-percent from the floor, including a 21-of-40 clip from downtown.
Nine of those treys were from Quincy Miller, who had 38 points and 20 rebounds as he led a balanced attack that saw four others finish in twin figures — Jeron Teng (22), Aljun Melecio (22), Justin Arana (14), and Mike DiGregorio (13).
“It’s a big help sa mga players na makatira nang makatira because it’s all about repetitions. Basketball is about repetitions,” Ayo said.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
