Converge head coach Aldin Ayo admitted that the team entered its PBA Governors’ Cup match versus NLEX Saturday night with confidence as they were coming off a big stunner of powerhouse San Miguel a week prior.
Thus, the disappointment on their part when the FiberXers bowed to the erstwhile-skidding Road Warriors through a 116-112 decision.
“Actually, we were confident. We practiced very well, we prepared very well. But, iba ‘yung actual, eh,” he told reporters moments after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. “Hindi mo makukuha sa practice.
“Ano lang ‘yung practice kasi mako-cover mo lahat. Pero bottomline, ‘yung execution dun sa game mismo. And we were able to do that. The problem was, consistency. We were erratic at times, especially dun sa dulo.”
For the rookie mentor, the 31 turnovers his charges committed were simply the reason behind the loss, which saw them blow a 12-point lead.
“We got 31 turnovers. That was the story of the game,” said Ayo as the opposition converted those errors into 36 points.
“And, bad decision-making, especially nung last stretch, lamang kami, we did not take care of the ball.”
Twelve of their turnovers came from Jamaal Franklin alone, none bigger than his failure to keep the ball on their side as he fell trap to the pesky defense of Kevin Alas, who closed the game out for NLEX and ended up with 31 points.
(C) PBA Images
Not only was it a club record but it also tied the second-most TOs by an import in 26 years, or since Tee McClary also had12 in Mobiline’s 89-86 victory over Alaska in the 1997 Governors’ Cup, per league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
In fairness to the former NBA cager, he actually carried the load for Converge, turning in a personal conference-high 53 points and 11 rebounds.
He connected on nine of the team’s 14 three-pointers, but needed 24 attempts. The FiberXers, as a whole, launched 35 tries from deep.
The team became predictable once again, according to Ayo, leading to the defeat that dropped the team to fourth after from no. 2 in the standings (5-2).
“Laro namin ‘yun eh, titira sa three-points. Pero as I’ve said, we were very predictable. ‘Di lumabas ‘yung mga pinraktis namin,” he said.
“Crucial ‘yung execution, kung anuman ‘yung pine-prepare namin.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
