Justine Baltazar opens his Converge stint with a loss

Justine Baltazar makes his debut for Converge FiberXers in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. –PBA IMAGES

There was very little rest for the weary Justine Baltazar, who plunged into action for Converge FiberXers for the first time on Thursday.

“I had to. The team needs me,” Baltazar told a handful of reporters prior to the FiberXers’ clash with NorthPort Batang Pier in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Baltazar entered the court with over five minutes left in the first quarter and it didn’t take long for him to score a basket in his long-awaited debut in the big league.

The lanky 6-foot-9 Baltazar was practically just a week removed from leading the Pampanga Giant Lanterns to a second straight MPBL championship, a mission he had to complete before taking the jump to the PBA.

“This has been my dream since I started playing basketball,” the soft-spoken Baltazar said in Filipino. “I’m just going to be ready to give whatever the team needs from me.”

Baltazar had a poor start to his PBA career, however, as NorthPort handed Converge a 108-101 defeat.

He arrived more than an hour before tipoff, but had to meet some obligations before he finally got to warm up.

After being asked by the coliseum announcer details that will be used for future reference, he caught up with NorthPort assistant coach Jeff Napa, who mentored Baltazar as a high school standout at National University-Nazareth School.

Then Baltazar posed for Christmas-themed photos followed by a mug shot while donning his No. 19 FiberXers jersey.

Team to look out for

Converge lost its second game in four outings, while NorthPort kept its slate clean and hiked its strong start to 5-0 in the midseason tournament.

But with Baltazar now on the roster, Converge will look to finally put itself in consideration as one of the teams to look out for.

Justin Arana, Alec Stockton, Schonny Winston and the rest of the FiberXers already began the conference with additional support by getting Jordan Heading from the Terrafirma Dyip, who held his rights since taking him in the special Gilas Pilipinas draft in 2021.

The FiberXers also have another big man to provide help for Arana and Baltazar in Letran product Paolo Javillonar, who picked 19th overall in the Rookie Draft.

That gives Converge a lot of front-line depth this conference, especially with import Cheick Diallo faring creditably for the club.

But on Thursday, all eyes were on Baltazar, who has been regarded as someone who could easily turn a franchise’s fortunes around with his rare mix of skill and size.

While selecting him meant the team would have to wait before it could field him, Converge knew that picking the former La Salle standout was a no-brainer.