CONVERGE wore the same purple and green jerseys from an ill-fated campaign last season but showed up as a different team for a smashing debut last night.
Was it due to a coaching change? Or the FiberXers’ import, Scotty Hopson, who promptly introduced himself to basketball-crazy Filipinos with a maiden game that ended with a flourish?
What mattered was Converge got the job done with an emphatic 127-95 dumping of Terrafirma for its first win in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A journeyman in different leagues across the globe, including a stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, Hopson banged in all his three tries from the four-point line–the last one making it a 123-94 count before he was subbed out for good, still 3:51 to go.
Hopson’s stoic demeanor contradicted his stellar showing–one that also inspired the FiberXers’ locals to do their part.
Converge interim coach Franco Atienza, who replaced Aldin Ayo just a little over two weeks ago and got a big boost in his think tank with the addition of former Gilas Pilipinas strategist Rajko Toroman as consultant and deputy Charles Tiu, said his charges’ surprisingly fiery offense was a result of their defensive game.
“First of all, it’s a team effort and we give credit to the other team. They’re a good team especially with the addition of the two guys, Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle. I think we defended them well. Scoring that much is just an offshoot of how we defended,” Atienza said. “We really didn’t consciously want to hit the 100-point mark or scoring 40-plus points in the third quarter.
“We kept it to a defensive game, and it just so happened our shots went it but that’s how what we practice. Just give credit to the guys on defense,” he added.
Hopson scattered a game-high 46 points, on top of eight rebounds and three assists, while Alec Stockton backed him up with 21 markers.
Schonny Winston also had 14 points, six boards, and four dimes while Justin Arana added 13 and six for Converge, which wound up with a 3-19 slate overall in the 48th season.
From a 53-49 cushion at the break, the FiberXers outgunned the Dyip 47-18 in a vicious third quarter breakaway to enjoy their biggest lead at 100-67 heading into the final stanza.
Pringle made a good account of himself in his first outing with Terrafirma after getting traded by Ginebra in the off-season with 19 points, four caroms, and seven dimes while comebacking Kevin Ferrer added 18 markers.
Reinforcement Antonio Hester, Standhardinger, and Juami Tiongson also had 18, 17, and 10 points, respectively, for the Dyip.
