Struggling Converge ‘folds’ late in games, says JGDL

Converge guard Juan Gomez de Liano challenges the defense of San Miguel Beer center June Mar Fajardo in the PBA Governors’ Cup.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–Juan Gomez de Liano didn’t sugarcoat Converge’s woes in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup that continued with Wednesday’s loss to San Miguel Beer.

The FiberXers went down 126-114 against the Beermen, who went on a tear in the second half, for their fourth consecutive loss after a 3-0 start.

“I think we just kind of like fold towards the end of the game,” Gomez de Liano said.

Converge has been primed as one of the contenders with its talent-laden roster that includes rookie Gomez de Liano, and it seemed like it was when the conference began with wins over Titan Ultra, Terrafirma and Macau.

But the FiberXers lost their first meeting with the Beermen, triggering the ongoing dry spell that was followed by setbacks at the hands of the TNT Tropang 5G and NLEX Road Warriors.

READ: PBA:NLEX improves to 5-0 after fending off Converge

Gomez de Liano and Converge are hoping to figure things out as quickly as possible, especially now that they are fourth in Group A, with Terrafirma (2-4), Titan Ultra (2-5) and Macau (2-5) not far behind in the standings.

The top four teams after the group stage qualify for the crossover quarterfinals.

Up next for Converge are Terrafirma on Aug. 11 and NLEX on Aug. 14 before the league takes a long break for the Fiba World Cup Qualifiers and the Asian Games campaigns of Gilas Pilipinas, two games that will see whether the FiberXers can get their acts straight.

“I think for us, we just have to like know roles and accept it, then work towards the role that we want to play,” said Gomez de Liano. “We have a lot of great players that can do a lot and do damage, but then that’s the thing if you have a stacked lineup.

“You have to kind of figure out what your role is, what your purpose is in the team and kind of just work towards that. Chemistry-wise, I don’t think we lack chemistry. I think we just kind of fall short towards the end.”