Maagdenberg pulls off crucial performance in already-ran Converge’s stunner vs TNT

MANILA, Philippines – With Converge’s season all but over, Pat Maagdenberg came up big for the FiberXers’ stunning PBA Philippine Cup win over the TNT Tropang Giga.

On Wednesday, the rookie big man had the best scoring outing of his young career so far, finishing with 12 points and two rebounds.

While the numbers are not exactly eye-popping, Maagdenberg’s shots could not have come in a timelier manner.

With TNT trailing by just four, 82-86, with 10:42 remaining in the game, the 6-foot-5 bruiser made play after play after play, sparking a 12-0 run capped by a fadeaway by Justin Arana to help the FiberXers grab a 98-82 lead. 

In that stretch, Maagdenberg scored eight points, six coming from and-one plays. 

While the Tropang Giga were able to come back and move within striking distance, the FiberXers held on and secured their second win in 11 contests. 

Despite a dismal season, they finished on a high note while also making the quarterfinal race interesting. 

The former Ateneo Blue Eagle then acknowledged that his confidence before the season “was not as high as it is now.” 

“But, going through the season, maybe the last four games, just picking up my scoring, rebounding, and just contributing more to the team is just really boosting my confidence and self-esteem to play well,” he told reporters. 

He bared that one of the assistant coaches of the team, McJour Luib, pulled him aside at the half and asked him to bounce back. 

“I play every game the same, as hard as I can, 110% all the time.I didn’t really have a really good first half, and one of our assistant coaches Coach McJour pulled me to the side and said make bawi the second half. And I guess I did that,” he added. 

For his part, head coach Aldin Ayo said that the Maagdenberg’s good showing in practices have paid off. 

“He’s been very consistent in his own way. He has been showing up in practices. At first, his minutes are limited, but he showed that he can play especially during our practices,” Ayo said. 

“That is why his playing time is slowly ramping up. Whatever playing time he has right now, he earned it,” he added. 

“He proved that to us during the practices that we had.” 

The bulky big man played a career-high 30 minutes on Wednesday.  He also made (5) and attempted (12) the most field goals in a game in his career. 

Maagdenberg finished the All-Filipino conference averaging 3.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.