MANILA, Philippines – Adding Jordan Heading shows Converge is serious in its goal of contending for a PBA championship.
And Heading believes the “sky’s the limit” for the FiberXers, especially with the team also set to welcome his former Gilas Pilipinas teammate and top draft pick Justine Baltazar.
Converge got off to a roaring start in the Commissioner’s Cup after a 116-87 rout of Terrafirma on Wednesday, November 27 — a win that saw Heading finally make his PBA debut against the team that drafted him three years ago.
Heading delivered a steady outing of 8 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes as the FiberXers picked up where they left off after nearly reaching the semifinals in the season-opening Governors’ Cup.
“I think as long as we keep moving in the right direction, in terms of our chemistry and in terms of playing for each other rather than playing for ourselves, I think the sky’s the limit for us,” said Heading.
“We got to build our chemistry out there. We got to figure out what each guy does well and carve out each other’s roles and be aware of that.”
Converge is bound to get even stronger with the impending arrival of Baltazar.
Sitting out the entire Governors’ Cup, Baltazar will miss a couple of games in the Commissioner’s Cup as he remains with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, who are eyeing a title repeat in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
Baltazar and Pampanga will go up against the Quezon Huskers in the best-of-five MPBL finals starting on Sunday, December 1.
Once his MPBL stint is done, Baltazar will reunite with Heading as they join forces again after being teammates for Gilas Pilipinas and Strong Group Athletics.
“I think there’s a lot of excitement about this team and I think it’s justified, especially with Balti coming in a few weeks,” said Heading.
“We’re really excited for that and I know everybody is as well. I think that’s going to take our team to a whole new level.”
Heading set foot on the PBA hardcourt at last after plying his trade abroad for the past few years.
Selected first overall by the Dyip in the Season 46 Draft in 2021, the 6-foot-2 guard instead chose to take his act overseas, seeing action in leagues in Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.
Terrafirma then shipped Heading to the FiberXers before the start of the conference.
“It’s good to get out there. Just thankful to be playing basketball again. It’s always great to get out on the court and finally be in the PBA. I’m really thankful,” said Heading. – Rappler.com
