Delta Force makes history

MANILA, Philippines — Pampanga Vice Governor Dennis (Delta) Pineda is now in the PBA record books as the first Converge head coach to beat Barangay Ginebra in an All-Filipino conference and did it in style. The FiberXers broke a string of four straight Philippine Cup losses, including two in the previous season, to Ginebra in hacking out a 106-96 decision at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Friday.

Pineda, making his PBA head coaching debut after piloting the Pampanga Giant Lanterns to two MPBL titles, said it wasn’t easy beating Ginebra and his ploy of stretching his rotation paid off in the homestretch. The score was tied, 72-all, entering the fourth period then the FiberXers put on a searing surge to win it running away.

Former Gilas/PBA coach and Converge consultant Rajko Toroman said Pineda’s feel for the game is a big factor. “Coach Delta understands basketball, knows when to change players and everyone respects him because he’s a winner,” said the Serbian who worked with Pineda for two years then took a season off before coming back. While on break, Toroman brought in another Serbian Djordje Jovicic to assist Pineda in the MPBL and his junior program. Jovicic is back in Belgrade and just signed a two-year contract to coach Satria Muda in the Indonesian league. Pineda said he remains in contact with Jovicic who still monitors Converge’s games and shares insights.

“Coach Delta’s philosophy is ball movement and sharing the ball,” said Toroman. “It showed in the win over Ginebra with our 25 assists.” Right after the game, the first thing that Pineda looked for in the stat sheet was assists where the FiberXers are No. 1 in the league.

Pineda said rotation is a big part of the team’s system. Against Ginebra, there were stretches where Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar sat together while Larry Muyang and Pao Javillonar took care of the interior. So in the fourth quarter, Arana and Baltazar had the legs to carry the team to the final buzzer. For the game, Pineda deployed 15 players and Ginebra, 10.