Alec Stockton was supposed to be out of the game after being initially ejected for a flagrant foul penalty two late in the first until the referees reversed the call.
Ironically, he would become Converge’s messiah.
The two-way guard beat the buzzer to lift the FiberXers past San Miguel, 114-112, and stay alive in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, Monday night.
Tasked to deliver the winning shot, Stockton didn’t fail his coaches, nailing a tough jumper to complete the fightback from 27 points down.
WATCH: Alec Stockton drains the buzzer-beater to keep Converge’s hopes alive! 🏀 (CIGNAL TV)
📹 @JustineBacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2024 pic.twitter.com/SQknWyBbF6
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) September 30, 2024
It was a gargantuan deficit which they overhauled, thus the joy of their fans inside the Ninoy Aquino Stadium as they avoided being swept.
“Shout-out to the referees for changing the call, I wouldn’t be here right now,” quipped the FEU product of the refs’ clarification on the call.
Stockton was already tossed out of the game late in the first quarter for an F2 after elbowing Kris Rosales to the jaw as they got into a physical battle.
But shortly after his ejection was announced, game officials took it back and downgraded the call to an F1, only forcing him to sit out for three minutes.
That, of course, was much to the benefit of Converge as the team kept one of its best players all night, and had an ace up its sleeve come crunch time.
True enough, Stockton was the one they needed, entrusting him with the final play as the young franchise went on to savor its first-ever playoff win.
“I almost cost us the game,” he said. “I had to do something. I’m just glad I made that shot and we got ourselves another chance on Friday.”
Stockton finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.
Top-scoring for Converge was Justin Arana as he delivered a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds, together with three assists and a steal.
Jalen Jones supplied 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Bryan Santos made 15 as they all helped out in erasing an 83-56 third-quarter deficit.
King Caralipio had 11 points while Deschon Winston added 10 for the FiberXers, who scored a total of 48 points in just the final period.
“We just didn’t give up, no matter what was thrown our way,” Stockton said. “We’re down 0-2 … we just kept fighting back and we just rode that.”
EJ Anosike, meanwhile, had 39 points, nine rebounds, and five assists against six turnovers to lead San Miguel in the disappointing defeat.
CJ Perez had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Marcio Lassiter scored 14 points, including the three crucial free throws to tie the game at 112-all with 6.2 ticks left — off a foul from Stockton.
June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo added 12 apiece.
Game 4 is on Friday at 7:30 in the same venue.
The Scores:
Converge 114 – Arana 23, Stockton 20, Jones 17, Santos 17, Caralipio 11, Winston 10, Cabagnot 8, Nieto 7, Delos Santos 2, Ambohot 1, Andrade 0.
San Miguel 112 – Anosike 39, Perez 18, Lassiter 14, Fajardo 12, Romeo 12, Ross 6, Rosales 6, Trollano 3, Cruz 2, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 20-27, 44-53, 66-87, 114-112.
