Juan GDL makes PBA history as first rookie to debut with triple-double

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Juan Gomez de Liaño didn’t need any long warmups and adjustments to make a name for himself in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

In his inaugural game as a PBA professional, the hefty lefty made it to the history books after becoming the first-ever rookie in the league to debut with a triple-double stat line during Converge’s lopsided 129-92 win over Titan Ultra in their Philippine Cup clash on Oct. 11, 2025, at the Ynares Center.

The former overseas Asian import showcased his all-around skills, capping off Converge’s domination with 15 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds.

Despite playing as a rookie, Gomez de Liaño immediately received the nod from the coaching staff to play as the team’s starting point guard, delivering with a performance for the ages that boosted Converge’s morale heading to their next set of games in the PBA Philippine Cup.

Gomez de Liaño navigated the hardwood like a veteran as he directed traffic that set up wide-open shots from their corner shooters, giving Converge an early 8-2 lead.

After whipping a dime to Kevin Racal, Gomez de Liaño quickly entered the scoring column with a three-pointer from the top of the key, followed by a coast-to-coast layup to end his first-quarter outing on a high note.

Gomez de Liaño flaunted his deep bag as the quarters progressed, backing down defenders using his size that piled up his points in the paint.

The monumental moment came at the 2:05 mark of the fourth quarter, when Gomez de Liaño hauled in his 10th rebound of the game to officially claim the rookie triple-double feat.

With the game already a blowout midway through the fourth, the Converge coaching staff gave Gomez de Liaño the green light to stay in and chase the PBA record.

“Towards late in the game, I was informed that I needed, like, a couple more rebounds and assists,” said Gomez de Liaño.

“As players, we’re kinda just enjoying the game. Everyone’s happy, everyone gets their chance to just play the game the right way.”

Aside from Gomez de Liaño, Justin Arana, the team’s star center, owned the entire paint after registering a dominant double-double of 28 points and 22 rebounds.

Schonny Winston did what was expected of him, dropping 16 markers, while Justine Baltazar added 15 points, 11 boards, five assists, and three blocks.