Fancied rookie Juan Gomez de Liano wasted little time showcasing his high-level hoops skills in the PBA.
Converge’s No. 2 overall pick delivered a performance that’s unheard of for a newbie in his maiden appearance in the league’s 50-year existence – a triple-double.
Gomez de Liano filled up the stat sheets with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and played a key role as the FiberXers dominated Titan Ultra, 129-92, for a winning start in the Season 50 Philippine Cup.
That sparkling debut also earned for the standout from University of the Philippines the honors as the PBA Press Corps’ Player of the Week for Oct. 5 to 12.
Gomez de Liano was the first to receive the weekly citation in the young season, winning it over Magnolia’s Zav Lucero, Rain or Shine’s Caelan Tiongson, and fellow FiberXer Justin Arana, among others.
The 6-foot cager thanked the team for giving him the opportunity to shine on that memorable Saturday in Montalban.
“I was informed that I needed like couple more rebounds and assists (to complete a TD). So I mean, I asked the coaches if I could just play the game and I’m glad they allowed me. You know it’s not a bad way to start my PBA career,” said Juan GDL, whose TD was also the first for a rookie since Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson made one back back in 2016.
He shared this feat with Converge’s debuting coach, Pampanga vice governor Delta Pineda, and his teammates.
“I think it’s a total team effort and I give props and credits to our coaching staff and especially our players. We were able to execute the game plan and we focused a lot on our defense, we emphasized on that really, really well (against Titan). I’m happy we got the W,” he said.
