Photo Courtesy of PBA
Converge is well on its way to accomplishing its goal of ending the year with a bang.
The red-hot FiberXers swept their three-game swing inside a hectic five-day schedule to climb up the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup standings.
Fiery Alec Stockton rallied Converge from 17 points down to stun perennial contender Barangay Ginebra, 98-91, Saturday at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum.
He dropped 17 of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter spurt as the FiberXers outscored the Kings, 33-13, to take control of the match and eventually cop their fifth win in seven outings to move up to second place.
The victory capped Converge’s challenging week heading into its Christmas Day encounter against Meralco at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A sweep of their last three games showed that the FiberXers benefitted from the tight schedule by exhibiting better cohesion and connection.
Converge’s comeback from a 38-55 hole in the first half against Ginebra was a testament that the team absorbed more of the swing’s positives.
“It can go both ways. If you play every day, it could exhaust you. But then again, having that much floor time builds familiarity,” acting coach Franco Atienza said at the start of the FiberXers week.
“Hopefully, we get more of the better than the bad part of the tedious scheduling,” he added.
Converge did.
The FiberXers swooped past NLEX, 102-91 last Tuesday, and ripped Phoenix, 116-105, before scoring an upset over Ginebra in an every-other-day game schedule.
Converge’s locals have made life easy for import Cheick Diallo. He’s been enjoying plenty of help from Stockton, Schonny Winston, Justin Arana, Jordan Heading and top rookie pick in the last Draft Justine Baltazar.
Riding the crest of their win streak and brimming confidence, the FiberXers will try to make it four on Christmas Day.