After coasting to share of lead, Converge and NLEX face adversity
Justin Arana (bottom) and the FiberXers have notched four wins, but against teams that have combined for just one win thus far.—AUGUST DELA CRUZ
There are no official numbers to figure out how often something like this happens but so far, four teams have played a total of 13 games already in the PBA Governors’ Cup—without dropping a match.
Three of those teams are tied for the lead. And two of them will be trying hard to keep their records spotless on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, with NLEX faced with a more trying situation: The Road Warriors are looking for a fifth straight win without the import who led them to the first four.
Star reinforcement Jonathon Simmons has flown to China and NLEX will battle a Barangay Ginebra squad that looked like it wasn’t hungover from its recent championship celebration.
“We just have to deal with the cards that we’re dealt with,” Kevin Alas told the Inquirer. “I don’t really know if I could call this situation a problem, [because] of course, we’d rather deal with [playing without Simmons] with a 4-0 record than go through it with a worse mark.”
In Simmons’ place will be NBA veteran Wayne Selden Jr., a PBA first-timer who will take on the Kings’ well-loved import Justin Brownlee.
“We’re looking forward to playing alongside him,” Alas said of Selden. “We just hope we could generate the same chemistry with him as we did with ‘Simms.’ That guy joined us early, that’s why cohesion was never an issue.”
The defending champion Kings, who are coming off a Commissioner’s Cup title conquest, debuted with a 116-108 win over Rain or Shine last Sunday and will be the toughest test for NLEX thus far.
Converge, tied with NLEX and an idling San Miguel Beer with four straight wins, will also face a dangerous foe in its bid to take a step ahead of the pack.
The FiberXers take on the TNT Tropang Giga, looking to take the scalp of another heavyweight after downing Magnolia.
Aldin Ayo, who hardly ever sounds satisfied, insists that his crew has yet to play to the best of its abilities with its second import, who despite having played efficiently in three of the team’s games, is apparently still trying to get a good grasp of how things are run over at Converge.
“We need more time to practice together. We’re taking things slowly with Jamaal (Franklin),” he said of the American forward who came as a quick replacement for Kiwi ace Ethan Rusbatch. “He’s still doing his best to cope and fit into our system.”
As good as Converge has been, the FiberXers have compiled their lead-tying record over teams that have a combined 1-13 (win-loss) record. That’s the poorest opponents’ win rate among the leaders with the Road Warriors running down foes with a 5-12 total card and the Beermen beating teams with a combined 3-12 slate.
And the Tropang Giga will enter the match against Converge carrying a 3-1 slate and a roster filled with players preparing for a national team call-up and the East Asia Super League’s invitational tournament in Japan. INQ
