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| Aldin Ayo is now officially out as Converge's head coach. Dennis Acosta (file photo) |
MANILA--Aldin Ayo will no longer handle Converge in the PBA as the team announced that he has already "bid farewell."
The FiberXers said on Thursday that they have parted ways with Ayo and first assistant coach McJour Luib.
"It was a mutually agreed decision for both parties to part ways. We are thankful for their dedicated service to the team for almost two years," said team manager Jacob Lao.
Ayo came on as Converge's head coach during the 2023 PBA Commissioner's Cup, replacing Jeffrey Cariaso, who has since moved to Blackwater.
In only his first conference, Ayo nearly sent the FiberXers to the semifinals thanks to a hot streak midway into the elimination round that even put them on top of the team standings.
Converge kept its contender status in the ensuing Governors' Cup and also made the quarterfinals there.
However, come the following season, the team crashed to the bottom of the team standings in both the Commissioner's and Philippine Cups.
This led to allegations that the FiberXers were tanking the season to get their hands at Balti Baltazar as the number one pick in this year's draft, something Ayo already denied only for the speculators to be insistent.
Converge indeed drafted the six-foot-seven forward first overall but may need to wait for Pampanga's MPBL season to be finished before he can join them in the PBA.
Ayo still handled the FiberXers during the Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament over the weekend.
However, they finished dead last after dropping their last three games following an opening night win against the Phoenix Fuel Masters, which included a shock loss to the lone amateur team in the four-club field, the De La Salle Green Archers, and an act of revenge by the Fuel Masters in the battle for third.
Franco Atienza, one of the members of the old Alaska club absorbed by Converge in the franchise sale in 2022, has been named as acting head coach as the FiberXers barely have two weeks to find a new regular head coach before the new PBA season starts on Aug. 18.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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