As much as Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone is frustrated with Converge’s garbage-time basket on Friday, he also made sure that Juan Gomez de Liano and his team would get their plaudits.
‘[Gomez de Liano] looked like he’s the best player in the league,’ Cone said after the Gin Kings had no answer for Gomez de Liano’s huge night in the 106-96 FiberXers triumph at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Gomez de Liano fired 32 points after missing just three of his 16 attempts in a performance that highlighted Converge’s mastery of the crowd favorites.
He also had six rebounds and six assists that enabled Converge to finally score a win against one of the perennial heavyweights in the league, a status the FiberXers hope to reach one day.
The FiberXers improved to 5-2 going into the three-week break due to the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers while the Gin Kings fell to 2-4.
But Cone also noted that Gomez de Liano wasn’t the sole reason for the Converge victory as Schonny Winston and twin towers Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar came through as well.
‘Gotta give credit to them. They are a really good young team. They put it all together tonight,’ said Cone. ‘They were greatly complimented by the two bigs as well. I thought they did a great job.’