MANILA, Philippines – Almind Ayo, the coach of Converge, maintains that his FiberXers are still a work in progress despite his team’s strong performance so far in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The current 5-2 record of his squad, which is highlighted by a four-game winning streak, was praised by Ayo as being “fantastic that all this is occurring.”

The rookie coach continued, “But, really, what’s crucial for us here is to develop something because, at the end of the day, if we want to be truly successful, to really move far, a footing should be there. We have to have a foundation in place.”

The outcome of what is anticipated to be a major collision between them at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Saturday would determine whether converge would continue pushing forward or NLEX could manage to put up a significant roadblock.

The FiberXers are motivated by their goal to extend their winning streak and hold onto third place, while the Road Warriors are motivated by their want to recover from a disappointing defeat in their most recent game and move up to a 4-3 record.

Lim also believes that the nearly two weeks of practice his side has had since losing to San Miguel Beer 116 to 124 on October 23 will be sufficient to help it defeat Converge.

Since matagal kaming break [since we had a break for a long time], we have prepared, in my opinion, well, Lim remarked. “Kondisyon naman mga bata and nag-set din kami ng gameplan. Tingnan natin if it works [we are conditioning our players and of course we set our game plan if it will work],” said the speaker.

Converge, which takes pride in its fast-paced style of play, may have an advantage over NLEX because of some injured players who have continued to miss games, like JR Quinahan and Anthony Semerad.

Lim doesn’t give up. He remarked, “It is what it is. “If there are any, I’ll go with them,” she said.

The matchup between Quincy Miller, a Converge import, and Earl Clark, an NLEX opponent, should be a fascinating tangent to the game.

Miller has been outstanding in guiding the FiberXers’ upswing with averages of 32.4 points, 16.71 rebounds, 3.57 assists, and 3.43 blocks per game, while Clark has fueled the Road Warriors’ upswing with his own averages of 33.3 points, 18.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.3 blocks (NC)

Frankie Lim, coach of NLEX, said, “Importante sa amin ang larong iyon, eh. [that game is important to us]” Iyong lamang ang panalo kaysa talo papunta sa mga iba pang mabibigat na laban “Kasi right now. 500 kami so kailangan ma-maintain namin iyong lamang ang panalo, [we need to maintain our status, we don’t want to go to another battle after losing a battle] “