Justin Baltazar formally trained with Converge a few months after being tapped as top overall pick in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Annual Rookie Draft.
And it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
FiberXers assistant coach Charles Tiu gave Baltazar rave reviews after seeing him in action during their training on Tuesday in preparation for their Commissioner’s Cup campaign.
Tiu said Baltazar is in great shape as he showed up at the heels of his successful campaign with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
“He dominated our practice,” said Tiu, who serves as one of the top deputies of Converge coach Franco Atienza following their training at the Gatorade Hoops Center.
“He looked good and will help us for sure.”
Things are going well with the FiberXers in the early stretch of this midseason conference.
They opened their campaign with a 116-87 win over Terrafirma on 27 November before suffering a 106-117 loss to the visiting Hong Kong Eastern on 29 November.
Then, they stunned Magnolia, 93-91, on 1 December to pile a 2-1 win-loss card heading into a crucial game against unbeaten NorthPort on Thursday.
A two-time MPBL Most Valuable Player, the 6-foot-9 Baltazar is expected to pump life into the FiberXers with his deadly brew of height, feathery shooting and superb footwork.
He is tipped to supply the defensive muscles for Converge, especially against taller, bulkier reinforcements.
But Tiu stressed that they are not yet sure if Baltazar will be deployed against the Batang Pier, who are being led by the power-playing Kadeem Jack with Arvin Tolentino and Joshua Munzon as support crew.
“Not yet sure. It all depends on the management,” said Tiu, suggesting that Baltazar may still be tired from his grueling MPBL campaign that culminated with a pair of finals matches against the Quezon Huskers in Dubai last week.
“It is understandable because he is still tired from his MPBL campaign and the Dubai trip. Also, he has yet to rest for almost a year so let’s see if we can field him.”
