Converge hardly showed any mercy as it blew out an incomplete Titan Ultra side by 31 points, 105-74, for a rousing start to its PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup campaign on Saturday night at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.
Their foes playing all-Filipino once again as it continues to sort out its import woes, the FiberXers raced to a 19-9 start, and then exploded for 31 points in the second chapter to build a 50-26 lead at the half, setting the tone for the rout.
The crew took advantage not just of the Giant Risers’ manpower issue but their horrid shooting as well—they went 0-for-17 from deep in the first half, now the all-time league record for most three-point attempts without a make in a half.
(C) PBA Images
The drought ended when Brian Sajonia nailed a four, but that didn’t make any difference whatsoever as they couldn’t get any flow going while Coach Delta Pineda’s charges simply had their way and cruised to the victory.
“‘Yung chemistry ng mga bata compared to the last conference, medyo um-OK naman kami,” said Pineda, who’s pleased to see his men start their redemption tour from a disappointing Commissioner’s Cup on a high note.
Jalen Hudson led the balanced attack with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in a solid PBA comeback after previously suiting up for TNT.
Archie Concepcion came through with 16 points to lead the bench mob. Justin Arana had 14 points and five rebounds, as Mikey Williams added 13.
(C) PBA Images
Calvin Abueva and Justine Baltazar combined for 12 points and 21 of the team’s 67 rebounds in the victory, where the team also dished out 28 assists.
A total of 14 players saw action in the game, including Juan Gomez de Liano, who suffered an apparent ankle injury during Gilas Pilipinas’ loss to Australia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers’ third window last Monday.
The Rookie of the Year frontrunner only had two points but flirted with a double-double as he chalked up nine rebounds and nine assists in 25 minutes.
Converge will try to keep in step with Group B leaders NLEX (2-0) when it battles the 1-1 Terrafirma on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Sajonia and Fran Yu, on the other hand, had 14 points apiece while King Caralipio added 10 markers for Titan Ultra, which fell to 0-2.
The Scores:
Converge 105 – Hudson 20, Concepcion 16, Arana 14, Williams 13, Clemente 9, Garcia 8, Abueva 6, Baltazar 6, Tungcab 6, Lepalam 5, Gomez de Liano 2, Policarpio 0, Muiyang 0, Eguilos 0.
Titan Ultra 74 – Yu 14, Sajonia 14, Caralipio 10, Ular 9, Javillonar 7, Munzon 6, Sumang 6, Cuntapay 4, Omega 2, Ambohot 2, Inigo 0, Dionisio 0, Amores 0.
Quarterscores: 19-9, 50-26, 78-49, 105-74.
