Converge head coach Franco Atienza is refusing to believe that momentum has shifted toward his team even after coming out of the grave and being on the brink of elimination in the past two games.

Truth be told, the FiberXers may have earned some, especially following a stunning 114-100 win in Game 4 that knotted the series at 2-2 and forced a winner-take-all Game 4.

But for Atienza, they are not holding on to any advantage at all. Both Converge and San Miguel have two wins and it all now boils down to the last one – a question of who wants it more in that one final game of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

“Whenever you go to that sudden-death, the last of whatever series you play, wala na yung mga stats, wala na yung previous games, everything is out of the window. It’s just one game,” Atienza said after the Game 4 win and ahead of the rubber match that tips off at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6.

And that might be true. Both the FiberXers and the Beermen surely have nothing on their minds but to pour it all out in the deciding Game 5. All the strategies that were plotted, momentum that have been gathered, and the streaks that they compiled would mean nothing if they won’t be ready to dive for every loose ball, fight for every rebound and battle for every possession.

“If you go up against a perennial championship contender balewala yung momentum, everything will be out (of the equation) stats will be out, momentum will be out. It’s just one game whoever would want it more, however cliche that may sound, eh yun ang makakuha ng panalo,” he added.

Atienza is confident that the last two games where Converge survived two do-or-die games have forged the mental fortitude, guts and grit to his wards.

But the Beermen are no simple opponents. They have gone through it all. They are battle-scarred and certainly know what it takes to win. SMB once pulled off a complete reversal in a series – perhaps the greatest comeback in PBA history when it completed the ‘Beeracle’ run that saw them win the Philippine Cup title despite being down 0-3.

Now being at the other end of the stick, the Beermen are just as determined to show the killer instinct that was missing in the last two games and deny the FiberXers their own comeback story.

“Nakadepende pa rin sa amin. Kilala naman natin yung San Miguel kung paano maglaro kailangan lang namin ibalik iyon kasi iyon yung nawawala eh,” said SMB star CJ Perez