ANTIPOLO — Alex Cabagnot refuses to settle for moral victories after Converge bowed to San Miguel in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
The FiberXers did drag the long-time powerhouse to a do-or-die situation in their best-of-5 series, but ultimately lost.
The decorated playmaker still sees it as a failure to take care of business – particularly in completing the reverse sweep.
“It’s like moral victories are very difficult for me to swallow at the moment,” he said moments after the 109-105 Game 5 defeat at the Ynares Center here.
“Because obviously, you guys know I’m 41 already, there’s not a lot of basketball left in me. That’s why I’m just kinda feeling a little bit sad right now.”
It’s not hard to see where Cabagnot is coming from. He’s easily the most bemedalled player in the Converge lineup with nine PBA championships, all of which he won with the San Miguel franchise as part of the ‘Death Five.’
That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise, too, that he gave his former team the fits in the decider.
Cabagnot punched in 14 points on a 4-of-6 clip from beyond the arc, three rebounds, and three assists plus a block to boot in 15 minutes.
Then a costly turnover with 25.6 seconds left to play hurt their chances of coming back into the match after losing a 99-91 early-fourth quarter lead.
“Alex played really well,” offered Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent of his ex-player. “Alex is a veteran, so he knows what to do inside the court.
“He reads very, very well, especially doon sa pick-and-rolls. It’s good na nag-turnover na lang siya sa huli,” the veteran mentor added jokingly.
It’s not to say, though, that Cabagnot is taking for granted what Converge has accomplished. He’s proud of how far the team has gone from going 3-19 last season to moving just a win away from the franchise’s first semifinal trip.
All that from a team that’s never won a single playoff game.
They were 0-4 overall heading into the recently-concluded series – until Game 3 last September 30, where they clawed back from 27 down.
“You know, it’s great,” said Cabagnot, a former Finals MVP. “I think the last time – they were talking about it – the last time they won … I think this is the first time they’ve ever won a playoff game, and we just didn’t win one. We won two.
“With the moral victory today… Going to the deep end with San Miguel is definitely a moral victory for us.”
But then again, Cabagnot isn’t one to dwell on moral gains, and he hopes that the entire FiberXers will all adopt that same mentality to find that next level.
“But, you know … I’m sharing with the locker room that sometimes, you know, moral victories are nice, pero if you wanna have that championship mindset, there’s no moral victories,” said the eight-time All-Star.
“But as of right now it’s something that we can build off. As you guys know coming from where I came from and the stuff that I’ve been through, moral victories are just something that you don’t even look at anymore.”
WATCH: Alex Cabagnot shares a playful moment with San Miguel fans: “Binu-boo niyo naman ako eh!” 😄
📹 @JustineBacnis/ Tiebreaker Times#PBA2024 pic.twitter.com/RVgiVVCm3S
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) October 6, 2024
