Skills development will be a focus.
The Converge FiberXers, who are coming off back-to-back victories in the PBA On Tour, is leaving no stone unturned in its preparations for PBA Season 48, which will tip off in October with the Commissioner’s Cup.
And it appears that skills training will be at the core of these preparations. It also seems that the Converge coaching staff will have plenty of help with not one, not two, but three foreign coaches set to join the team’s practices. One of them, in fact, is already in town: Phil Handy, the three-time NBA champion assistant coach.
Handy, who has won NBA titles with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors, and the Los Angeles Lakers, is in the Philippines to hold basketball clinics with local teams, including Converge, apparently.
“He’s a guest, and he’s gonna work out with the team,” Converge coach Aldin Ayo confirmed to News5’s Martie Bautista.
Ayo, himself a champion coach, is naturally excited. He also shared that Handy won’t be the only one who will give Converge a helping hand.
"Of course, we’re excited for him. Not only for him but also the Slovenia coach,” said Ayo. “We have two foreign coaches right now who's going to help us with our preseason training.”
The NCAA and UAAP champion is thankful that their training will be taking place during a long offseason because the team gets more time to learn from these coaches, especially from Handy, who seems to have a keen eye for Filipino talent.
“We’re excited, especially preseason pa lang ‘to. So, we have enough time to work on it, ‘yung individual skills ng players,” Ayo explained. “This is the best time to work with those players, ‘yung development program.”
Converge might just be a team to watch next season.
(GM)