Justine Baltazar can look forward to the new year with a promising performance to end 2024.

Baltazar had the best game of his young PBA career against the Meralco Bolts, scoring 16 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out four assists in the Converge FiberXers’ 110-94 victory. 

Prior to that, Baltazar was unable to score in double figures in his first four games in the league. The former DLSU Green Archer had been a dominant force for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) in part because of his skillset and also because no one could guard him one-on-one. Expectations were naturally high given how he held up against some former PBA players.  

Once he made the jump to the league, however, it was clear that the PBA was a different animal. PBA imports are as, if not more, athletic than Baltazar, while the seasoned locals are not fazed by the 27-year old having seen him play. 

It would be unfair to say that Baltazar would be one of the many fish in the sea that is the PBA, but the two-time MPBL MVP would need some time to validate his spot as the top pick in the 2024 PBA Draft. Unlike many of his peers, he came in during the middle of the season and did not have the benefit of an offseason nor a proper training camp to really understand the tenets of the FiberXers’ system. Nonetheless, Baltazar could not have come at a better time. 

Converge’s win over the Bolts gave them a 6-2 win-loss record and a share with Hong Kong Eastern and the NorthPort Batang Pier at the top of the 2024-2025 Honda PBA Commissioner’s Cup standings. There’s not much pressure for Baltazar to immediately contribute thanks to the solid FiberXers frontline led by Cheick Diallo and Justin Arana.  He can thus take his time learning from two-time PBA MVP Danny Ildefonso, who is part of Converge’s coaching staff and is known for teaching the likes of eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo. More importantly, this allows him to learn and make mistakes now, because Baltazar obviously figures heavily into the FiberXers’ long-term plans.

The second half of Converge’s 2024-2025 Commissioner’s Cup schedule should provide chances for Baltazar to see where he is at the moment. Matchups against the TNT Tropang Giga and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters should determine how he handles PBA physicality, while the contest against the San Miguel Beermen should give him a closer look at Fajardo. 

For now, though, Justine Baltazar can enjoy the holidays knowing he has provided a glimpse of what he can be for the Converge FiberXers. He’s silenced the doubters to end 2024 and now he’s set to shatter expectations in 2025.