ANTIPOLO — San Miguel took advantage of a haunting endgame blunder by Converge to escape with the 103-99 decision for its first win in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, Wednesday night at the Ynares Center here.
The Beermen caught themselves in a 99-all deadlock when Alec Stockton nailed a four-pointer from the top with 39.6 seconds to go, but the pesky guard would also be the reason that their foes would go back ahead, never to let up.
Bringing flashbacks of their overtime collapse versus Ginebra in the last Philippine Cup quarterfinals, Stockton got called for a foul on Don Trollano, who then perfected his bonuses for the 101-99 lead with 27.2 seconds to spare.
The FiberXers would never be able to buy another basket, with June Mar Fajardo settling the final count with a layup with 3.5 ticks left.
Justine Baltazar almost nailed a shot from halfcourt, and that miss of his enabled the powerhouse to bounce back after losing to Titan Ultra in its debut.
(C) PBA Images
“The game we had the last time was frustrating,” said head coach Leo Austria of their 119-112 defeat last Saturday. “I’m happy that tonight, nakita ang tunay na game ng San Miguel. It was a close game, pero naka-focus sila.”
The nine-time MVP led SMB with 27 points and 17 rebounds, together with three assists and two steals, to earn Player of the Game honors.
CJ Perez finished with 24 points, five rebounds, and five assists, along with four steals. Trollano registered 18 points and seven rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter added 11 points in the win that also saw Marcus Lee redeem himself.
After scoring just four the last time out, the former NBL champion tallied 10 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and all three of their blocks.
“After the last game, he approached Coach Gee and me. He told us na, ‘Coach next game, what happened last game will never happen again.’ That’s what he promised to us,” said Austria. “I’m so happy doon sa kanyang defense.”
The win shall give San Miguel its confidence back heading to its rivalry affair versus the Bol Bol-led TNT this Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
(C) PBA Images
Baltazar led Converge with 19 points and five rebounds in the loss, which is already their third in a row after a triumphant debut versus Macau.
Stockton had 17 points and eight assists, with Mikey Williams supplying 14 points and eight assists in his best game so far since returning to the league.
Archie Concepcion had 13 points. Kylor Kelley made 12 points and 20 rebounds plus five of the team’s six blocks while MJ Garcia added 11 points for a team that continued to miss the services of Juan Gomez de Liano and Calvin Abueva.
The FiberXers will try to arrest their skid against, interestingly, the Kings this Sunday also at the Big Dome, with tipoff time set at 7:30 p.m.
The Scores:
San Miguel 103 – Fajardo 27, Perez 24, Trollano 18, Lassiter 11, Lee 10, Tautuaa 7, Miller 4, Rosales 2, Tiongson 0, Brondial 0, Cahilig 0
Converge 99 – Baltazar 19, Stockton 17, Williams 14, Concepcion 13, Kelley 12, Garcia 11, , Arana 6, Policarpio 5, Reyson 2, Muyang 0, Santos 0
Quarterscores: 20-25, 42-50, 73-71, 103-99
