Souped-up Converge versus Macau Black Knights kicks off PBA Commissioner’s Cup

Games on Wednesday
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5:15 p.m. – Titan vs Terrafirma
7:30 p.m. – Converge vs Macau

AFTER a busy pre-PBA Commissioner’s Cup buildup, Converge tests its souped-up crew right away against guest team Macau in the mid-season conference’s kickoff at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Just a win short of cracking the semifinals of the preceding Philippine Cup, FiberXers went full throttle in acquiring veterans Mikey Williams and Calvin Abueva and young guns Jonnel Policarpio, James Kwekuteye and Kurt Reyson in a series of trades.

Then the Delta Pineda-coached squad brought in seven-foot dynamo Kylor Kelley to add ceiling and defensive savvy to the talented core of Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, Alec Stockton and super rookie Juan Gomez de Liaño.

This early, aficionados are tagging Converge as a title contender.

“We’ll just treat the conference one game at a time,” said Mr. Arana ahead of the 7:30 p.m. tiff that follows the 5:15 p.m. curtain-raiser between Titan and Terrafirma.

Mr. Arana said the new mix is still working on jelling at this point.

Macau, which switched monickers to Black Knights from the old Black Bears, parades 6-foot-8 Tony Mitchell as import.

Mr. Mitchell, who previously suited up for the Star Hotshots and NLEX in the PBA, is backed up by former Brent player Jenning Leung, former CBA players Zijie Lu, Zhu Zhaojing and Li Jiashuo.

Meanwhile, the Day 1 opener features two squads out to lay the groundwork for their redemption tours.

The Giant Risers, who finished ninth in the All-Filipino with a 4-7 card, try to also give Rensy Bajar a winning debut as the new head coach. The Dyip (1-10 last time) look to start right as they also finally unleash top pick Geo Chiu. — Olmin Leyba