Playing on Christmas Day is actually nothing new anymore to Jordan Heading, but this year marked the first time that he did as much in the Philippines.
That’s why even though going to work on December 25 has been something he’s gotten used to, it was still a tad special this time, for he knows how much the Yuletide season is being celebrated in this part of the world.
“I’m a little bit used to playing on Christmas Day for as long as I can remember, every year of my professional career,” said the Converge guard, who’s played professionally in Japan, Taiwan, and Australia before going to the PBA.
“But it was a little bit different here in the Philippines. I think we celebrate it better than anyone else,” he added.
“So, there’s a little bit of extra excitement.”
That excitement he felt translated so well on the hardwood. The FiberXers figured in their first Christmas Day game against Meralco on Wednesday and they went on to give themselves one more reason to celebrate the Holidays.
The crew won in convincing fashion, 110-94, to make it four wins in a row and gain a share of the third spot in the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
Heading himself starred in the triumph, firing a conference-high 30 points — spiked by a 4-of-6 clip from three — alongside six rebounds and eight assists.
The former Gilas gunner’s scoring has actually been picking up even before dropping the 30-piece, all while maintaining his assist numbers.
But there wasn’t any switch whatsoever in terms of mindset, he said, that it’s simply a by-product of him getting accustomed to his new team — and making the best possible decision whenever the ball lands on his hands.
“No, I don’t think there’s really a change of mindset. I think it just took me a few games to get going, a few games to get game shape. I’m excited to be there and to be finding my groove,” said the 28-year-old lefty.
“I’m not just trying to get my own buckets, but I’m also trying to make the best decisions for my team,” he added.
“I think I need to do a lot better in terms of eliminating my turnovers but I’m trying to find my teammates as well.”
His eight assists actually led the FiberXers and he was proud of how Converge as a collective shared the rock as it led to 25 assists, indeed a factor to the solid showings from the others as four more guys scored in double figures.
Cheick Diallo finished with 24 points and 18 rebounds. Rookie Justine Baltazar broke out and registered 16 points alongside seven rebounds, while Deschon Winston and Alec Stockton supplied 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Having a well-distributed offense is what makes Converge tough to cover defensively, Heading opined, although the five-year pro at the same time believes that the youth-laden team remains very much a work in progress.
“I think we’ve done a great job of sharing the scoring load and finding the hot hand. I think that’s what makes us difficult to guard, if you don’t know who it’s gonna be each and every night,” he offered.
“As far as improving, I think we’ve got a long, long way to go,” added the Adelaide-born cager. “We’re still young, we’re still figuring our identity out.”
What he hopes to see from him and the FiberXers moving forward is to play the same way they did against the Bolts, where the squad led from start to finish, and not like in their two previous outings against NLEX and Ginebra.
Converge had to crawl out of huge double-digit deficits in both of those outings and despite the kind of character it showed, Heading would still prefer for the team to avoid falling into such dangerous situations moving forward.
“Obviously the past few games, we found ourselves in 17-point, 20-point holes to start the game. We did manage to crawl out of those holes but it makes it really hard to win those types of games,” he reflected.
“So like we did tonight, play forty-eight minutes compete from the tip-off to when the game ends,” Heading added as they jumped to a 22-6 start
