GAMES TOMORROW
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. – NorthPort vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. – SMB vs. Magnolia
ON the lookout for consistency on both ends, especially on defense, Converge interim coach Franco Atienza finally got what he wanted against Blackwater last Sunday night.
“We know we will get our shots, but if we want to be a contender, we have to tighten up on our defense. How cliché it may sound, you win games with offense, but if you want to go deep, defense should be there,” Atienza said. “So, just proud of the guys. We limited them to 80 points in a 48-minute game, that’s 20 points per quarter. That’s within our goal, 15 to 20.
“So far, so good. We’re hitting that, except for that Magnolia game. But all the rest, we’re within that range, mga 20, 21 points per quarter. So we want to reinvent ourselves. We want to have that identity of being a defensive team,” he added.
Atienza spoke after the FiberXers dumped the Bossing 111-80 for their second win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Converge simply did its assignment in atoning for a 71-83 loss to Magnolia Wednesday last week and improving to 2-2 in the season-ending tilts.
“At the end of the day, you would have an off-night on offense, pero on defense, kailangan is sipag. You control that. That’s one thing you can control,” Atienza said. “So, we want to control that and well, it’s a bonus na because if you play well, maybe the confidence is there. Guys are in good spots.
“We have five guys in double digits, iyong isa nine points, iyong isa, seven points. So, that’s virtually six, seven guys in double digits. So this is just a spillover or an effect of our defense.”
Blackwater remained winless in two starts, counting an 84-106 rout at the hands of the Hotshots last April 5.
The pair of the FiberXers’ two Justins—Arana and Baltazar—did most of the damage with a double-double.
Arana wound up with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Baltazar backed him up with 16 markers, 10 boards, and two assists.
Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos also had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Converge, which held Bossing gunner Sedrick Barefield to a measly five-point night and prized center Christian David scoreless.
RK Ilagan carried the fight for Blackwater with 19 markers while Richard Escoto had 11.
With Arana and Baltazar slowly learning to jive, Atienza has a good problem.
“These guys are hard workers. These guys are dedicated professionals and given iyon, with the talent that they have and the hard work kapag pinagsama iyon, you will not go wrong with that,” Atienza said. “So, I’m happy for them. But ang ibig sabihin niyan lumalaki iyong target on their backs.
“Ma-i-scout sila, paghahandaan sila, like how we got ready for Barefield and David. But I believe naman na that they are at that level on how to adjust.”
