A shot at payback awaits Devon Scott as San Miguel takes on Converge in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.
It has been over a month already, yet the American cager hasn’t forgotten one bit about how the FiberXers spoiled his league debut. The youth-laden crew stunned the perennial contenders, coming away with a 106-102 decision.
“I take a lot of my shoulder from that game why we lost,” he admitted shortly after the Beermen wrapped up their elimination round campaign with a 113-108 escape of Meralco, Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
That match saw the 28-year-old struggle to find the mark with just 7-of-18 shooting from the field, although he still managed to contribute a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds together with six assists.
Furthermore, he had a hand in SMB’s rally late that saw the crew string together 11 unanswered points to take a 100-95 lead with under five minutes left.
But the loaded side uncharacteristically failed to get the job done, as their foes unloaded their own 11-0 run behind Quincy Miller and Maverick Ahanmisi for a six-point lead with 45.1 seconds left on the way to catching a big fish.
“It was a very close game coming down the stretch,” Scott said. “It was my first game with the team, first game in the PBA, so I was kinda trying to feel it out.”
A lot has changed between the two since that matchup. Converge, still in the process of establishing its foundation, at one point was the hottest team with seven wins in a row, eventually clinching the fourth seed with an 8-4 card.
As for San Miguel, the crew struggled in the middle of the tournament, but gained steam at the tailend of the eliminations with four consecutive wins to finish with a 7-5 record — good enough to seal the fifth spot.
Scott himself is coming in as a much better player compared to the first game. Entering the quarters, the 6-foot-9 forward from Ohio is averaging 23.4 points on 53.7-percent shooting, 15.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.6 steals.
It would also be intriguing to see how a complete Beermen unit would fare against the gritty FiberXers with June Mar Fajardo now in tow.
The only six-time MVP missed the October 21 encounter after undergoing throat surgery, which kept him out for a month. He played his first game back against Terrafirma last November 21 and has been in action since.
Scott can’t wait to see how all that will unfold when the best-of-three series tips off at 3 p.m. at Philsports — the very same venue where he debuted.
“You know, I’ve got more games under my belt. I’ve got more time to gel with the team. No matter what, it’s gonna be a tough game, but I believe in my guys, always. I believe in myself. It’s gonna be a battle for sure,” he offered.
