Converge came from behind to spoil the debut of Macau, 102-94, for a winning start to its PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup campaign Wednesday night.
The FiberXers leaned on the troika of Alec Stockton, Kylor Kelley, and Justine Baltazar to turn things around after finding themselves trailing by four, 92-88, following Damian Chongqui’s freebies for the Black Knights with 5:47 to spare.
Kelley cleaned up Mikey Williams’ missed jumper with a jam, then came the local duo shortly after. They put together a 14-0 run for the 102-92 lead with 1:18 left, much to the delight of their fans inside the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
(C) PBA Images
It was a fourth-quarter reversal for Coach Delta Pineda & Co., as they outscored the guest team, 23-12. And it took the efforts not just of the said trio, but of Archie Concepcion and the returning former two-time Finals MVP as well.
Concepcion knocked down consecutive hits early in the said period before Williams — who played the entirety of the frame — dished out key dimes to contribute solidly to the aforementioned scoring spree late in the match.
“Itong mga bata, dumipensa nang husto talaga nung fourth quarter,” said Pineda of his charges. “‘Yan ang big adjustment namin, ‘yung defense. You see, ‘yung transition [defense] namin, ‘yung steals, ‘yun ang nagdala sa amin.”
Stockton top-scored for the souped-up Converge with 18 points, which he laced with three rebounds, three assists, and six of the team’s 15 steals.
Concepcion finished with 16 points, 12 of which he made in the second half. Justin Arana supplied 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Baltazar delivered 14 points and 10 rebounds. Another debutant, Jonnel Policarpio, came through with 13 points and five rebounds, while Kelly added 12 points and 19 rebounds plus four of their five blocks in a solid flex of depth.
“Nag-step up lahat ng mga bata,” lauded Pineda, whose team shot an efficient 51.2-percent from the field thanks mainly to their 24 assists as a unit.
Converge will try to win two in a row to start the conference when it battles the 1-0 Terrafirma this Saturday at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.
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Jenning Leung led Macau with 22 points, spiked by a pair of four-pointers. Phoenix Shackleford backed him up with 20 in the collapse.
Chongqui provided all-around numbers of 19 points, five rebounds, and seven assists while import Tony Mitchell made 18 and 10 in his PBA return.
Coach Garrett Kelly and his Black Knights (0-1) will next test themselves against the debuting Rain or Shine this Sunday, also in Montalban.
The Scores:
Converge 102 – Stockton 18, Concepcion 16, Arana 15, Baltazar 14, Policarpio 13, Kelley 12, Gomez de Liano 8, Garcia 4, Clemente 2, Williams 0, Muyang 0, Reyson 0.
Macau 94 – Leung 22, Shakelford 20, Chongqui 19, Mitchell 18, Cao 7, Lao 6, Lu 2, Sun 0, Li 0, Chao 0.
Quarterscores: 27-19, 49-53, 79-82, 102-94.
