Jordan Heading is slowly building a strong rookie campaign with the Converge FiberXers in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
Jordan Heading had another stellar outing to lead Converge to a 116-105 victory over Phoenix in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate on Thursday, Dec. 19.
The win marked the first time for the FiberXers' to string consecutive victories in the mid-season conference to improve their mark to 4-2.
They currently stand at third behind co-leaders NorthPort and Eastern (both at 5-1).
Heading, named Player of the Game, showcased his all-around play with 21 points, three rebounds, six assists and five steals.
In Converge's last outing where it won against NLEX two days ago, Heading dished out 11 assists on top of his 14-point performance.
And before that, against NorthPort last Dec. 12, he tallied 30 points, six rebounds and six assists in an unfortunate losing effort.
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Despite his standout showing, the Fil-Aussie gunner downplayed his individual stats and kept the focus on the team’s progress.
“I just think we’ve got a lot of weapons on our team. It’s pretty hard to lock in on certain guys when all five guys can put the ball in the hole,” Heading said during the post-game press conference.
“As a guy with the responsibility with the ball to make plays, that makes it easy on me because I can just kind of find the open man. And I’ve got confidence in all these guys that they’re going to make the right play as well,” he added.
Picked first overall by Terrafirma in the PBA Season 46 special Gilas draft in 2021, it was only in this conference that Heading finally played in the league.
Converge even went the distance to get Heading, trading Aljun Melecio, Keith Zaldivar and their first-round pick in Season 51.
In six games with the FiberXers, Heading has been averaging 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.
But when asked to evaluate his early-season performance, the 28-year-old guard provided a straightforward answer.
“I rate it just how our record is. That’s really all I care about — just getting wins. Right now, we’re 4-2, and we’re just going to try and keep going,” said Heading.
“I don’t really focus on my own rookie campaign or anything like that. We’re all focused on taking the next steps as a team.”
With its sights set on another victory, Converge will face a sterner test in Brgy. Ginebra on Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Batangas City Coliseum.