ANTIPOLO, January 20 ------ Converge managed to stay composed despite the jarring exit of Justin Arana by slapping Blackwater back to reality, 127-109, to take solo second in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday. The FiberXers lost their lead big man just before the third quarter ended due to a hyper-extended left knee following an awkward side-step attempt, casting a cloud of anxiety at the Ynares Center here as he had to be aided to the dugout.
It happened at a time, too, where the Bossing were in the midst of a furious comeback attempt from a deficit as wide as 20 points, yet the youth-laden side sure did their best to remain collected — and it eventually bore fruit. “We’re hoping for the best,” said acting head coach Franco Atienza, his fingers crossed that the 25-year-old Arana — who never returned to the game after the scary incident — would be all fine. “Hopefully, nothing serious.”
Jordan Heading led the way with 22 points, three rebounds, and five assists as he starred in their early fourth-quarter surge to restore order. Cheick Diallo flirted with a 20-20 outing as he finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds, and added four assists in a turnover-less performance.
Justine Baltazar fired 20 points as well to reset his PBA career-high, and laced as much with 10 rebounds as the rookie helped their pull away in the final frame in a solid effort stepping up after Arana went down with the injury. Alec Stockton delivered 19 points and seven assists to help Converge hike its card to 8-3 and get ahead of Meralco, NorthPort, and Hong Kong Eastern after the four teams shared 7-3 cards at the no.2 spot on Saturday night.
It happened after the Bolts outlasted San Miguel by way of 100-93 decision at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur in an out-of-town special. Soon, the FiberXers will have a crack at the Beermen on Friday, January 24, still at the Ynares Center to wrap up their elimination round campaign — and boost their bid of rising to the no. 1 spot should they beat the 4-5 team.
George King, on the other hand, finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists to lead Blackwater, which failed to make it two wins in a row after beating Terrafirma the last time out in a battle between two bottom-dwellers. Jaydee Tungcab had 20 points while Justin Chua made 16 points for the Bossing, who dropped to 2-d and remained at no. 12 in the table. Coach Jeff Cariaso and Co. will look to end the conference on a winning note entering their last two games against Phoenix and the Batang Pier.
The Scores:
Converge 127 – Heading 22, Baltazar 20, Diallo 20, Stockton 19, Delos Santos 10, Winston 10, Santos 8, Nieto 8, Arana 7, Racal 3, Caralipio 0, Andrade 0.
Blackwater 109 – King 34, Tungcab 20, Chua 16, David 14, Kwekuteye 10, Casio 6, Corteza 4, Ponferrada 3, Guinto 2, Montalbo 0, Ayonayon 0, Jopia 0.
Quarterscores: 33-26, 70-56, 97-88, 127-109.
Source: tiebreakertimes.com
Editor's note:
In the first game, Robert Bolick starred as NLEX laid its five-game losing skid to rest following a 108-94 victory over Phoenix to stay in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup playoff race. The star guard finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and nine assists as he once again flexed his endgame wits to help the Road Warriors repel a rally that saw the Fuel Masters threaten after being down by 17 early in the fourth quarter. Berto nailed a tough jumper to widen the lead to eight with 4:57 remaining, before nailing a three-pointer and then a failaway jumper from within the free throw area for a 105-92 advantage approaching the game’s final two minutes.
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