MANILA, Philippines – Former NBA player Cheick Diallo stamped his class as Converge crushed Terrafirma, 116-87, in the opening game of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, November 27.

A serviceable big man who played five seasons in the NBA, Diallo produced a double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds in his PBA debut to power the FiberXers to their third-biggest blowout victory in franchise history.

“When we got Cheick, we know we are getting a high-motor guy, athletic, can jump out of the gym. What we saw now is what we expected him to play like,” said Converge head coach Franco Atienza.

Only 28 years old, Diallo played three seasons for the New Orleans Pelicans and one each with the Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons.

“What we like about CD is he has good character, he know how to get along with the team. He is one of the guys. He talks to our young players. He shares his experiences from the NBA.”

Justin Arana backstopped Diallo with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Bryan Santos and Mike Nieto chimed in 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the rout that saw the FiberXers’ lead peak at 33 points, 116-83.

The game also marked the keenly awaited PBA debut of Jordan Heading, who put up all-around numbers of 8 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes for Converge.

Picked first overall by the Dyip in the special Gilas Pilipinas round of the Season 46 Draft in 2021, Heading decided not to play for Terrafirma and instead took his act overseas, seeing action in Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.

The Dyip traded Heading to the FiberXers before the conference, paving the way of his PBA career start.

“So far, so good. We believe he played really well,” said Atienza of Heading. “He is slowly understanding what we want to do on both ends of the floor. I think for a first game, he exceeded our expectations.”

Rookie CJ Catapusan put up 13 points and 6 rebounds to pace Terrafirma, which is in transition after trading longtime players Juami Tiongson and Andres Cahilig to San Miguel in exchange for Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel.

The Dyip, however, missed their two newest acquisitions as Romeo (injury) and Manuel (illness) sat out.

Shorthanded, Terrafirma trailed 16-34 at the end of the first quarter and played catchup the rest of the way as it absorbed the 29-point beating.

Mark Nonoy debuted for the Dyip and tallied 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, while import Ryan Earl Richards posted 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

The Scores

Converge 116 – Diallo 25, Arana 16, Santos 12, Nieto 11, Heading 8, Winston 7, Stockton 7, Ambohot 6, Fleming 6, Andrade 5, Racal 5, Fornilos 3, Javillonar 3, Santos 2, Cabagnot 0.

Terrafirma 87 – Catapusan 13, Sangalang 11, Pringle 11, Nonoy 11, Richards 10, Carino 8, Hernandez 6, Ramos 5, Melecio 4, Paraiso 3, Ferrer 3, Zaldivar 2, Hanapi 2.

Quarters: 34-16, 59-42, 86-67, 116-87.

– Rappler.com