Converge parted ways with head coach Aldin Ayo due to “mounting tension” within the club following a poor showing in the most recent PBA Philippine Cup and a loss to collegiate team La Salle in a Davao pocket tournament last week.

Management made the decision to make the adjustment as a result of friction and arguments that developed within the company following a prolonged period of losses.

Though sources claimed that Ayo is still friendly with upper management and that no bridges were burned, he might be given a different responsibility within the Strong Group Athletics group, which has been sending teams to major international competitions and is about to launch its own 3×3 basketball program.

The same source questioned whether Ayo would return to his old college, Letran, where he helped the team win an NCAA championship, despite the fact that SGA head Frank Lao supports the Knights as one of the varsity programs.

Ayo’s interim replacement, former Alaska Aces assistant coach Franco Atienza, will serve as long as team management decides to keep him in that position, according to insiders.
With the plethora of well-known coaches that have been associated with the organization for a long time, Converge and the SGA group, in particular, will have an abundance of options.

“Maraming coaches sa pool ang Converge eh. Puro high-profile yan, tandaan mo. And Rajko is the most senior and highly decorated of them all,” the source said.

Newly crowned Jones Cup champion coach Charles Tiu is another name that emerges, but his coaching role at Benilde could prevent him from advancing to the PBA, at least for the time being, according to insiders.

Inquiring about the possibility of MPBL champion coach Dennis “Delta” Pineda assuming the Converge coaching role following his exclusion by the PBA board from serving as team governor, the source from Converge stated that the decision lies with the governor of Pampanga.

SGA consultant Brian Goorjian, who recently led the Bay Area Dragons to last year’s Commissioner’s Cup Finals, is being considered as a potential candidate, and is remembered by PBA fans. The team lost to Ginebra in seven games. Goorjian’s contract as the Australian coach is due to expire after the current Paris Olympics.

Despite the unavailability of Converge team manager Jacob Lao, the successor to Ayo will inherit a more promising situation, given the team’s successful acquisitions from the recent PBA draft, which notably featured top overall pick Justine Baltazar, Paolo Javillonar, and Ben Phillips.