Alec Stockton submitted one of his best career outings to power Converge to a 111-92 crushing of the free-falling NorthPort for a masterful bounce-back in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Friday evening at the Philsports Arena.
The budding star guard dropped 33 points, 13 of which he made in the second chapter alone to lead the FiberXers’ turnaround from a sluggish start toward returning to their winning ways after losing to Ginebra in Pampanga.
Stockton sparked the 10-2 attack to open the said period to turn a three-point deficit to a 26-21 lead, and that run ignited their 34-point explosion toward a 50-40 advantage at the half that put them ahead the rest of the way.
Held to just eight points on 10 shots in their loss to the Kings, the former FEU playmaker shot 52.4-percent from the floor to lead Converge to its fifth win in eight games, moving themselves closer to a quarterfinal berth.
“We were able to bounce back this game but we’re not close to where we want to be,” said Stockton, who had his fourth career 30-point game. “We just want to keep on progressing in terms of trying to make a playoff spot.”
(C) PBA Images
Deschon Winston was also huge in the triumph as he finished with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds, and five assists to lead the bench mob.
Justin Arana finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Justine Baltazar notched his own double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, along with two blocks.
“It’s a good bounce-back win for us,” offered interim head coach Franco Atienza. “Somehow, bumalik kami on how we want to play our game.”
Converge will look to get another win run going when it takes on one of the league’s hottest teams in NLEX (5-1) next Friday, May 23, in the very same venue, with the aim of bolstering its bid to reach the quarterfinals.
“We understand na wala pa rin eh. We have a couple more games left, and balewala ito if we don’t win those games and get a good position in the playoffs. So we take it today and after today, we focus on NLEX,” said Atienza.
(C) PBA Images
Joshua Munzon, on the other hand, had 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists to lead the Batang Pier, who trailed by as many as 23 before falling to their fifth straight defeat. They’re now second to the last in the standings at 1-5.
William Navarro made 20 points and nine rebounds. Cade Flores had 14 points and eight rebounds while James Kwekuteye added 12 markers for a team that couldn’t find solutions as it continues to miss Arvin Tolentino.
A tall order lies ahead for Coach Bonnie Tan and his wards as they’re set to face current leaders Magnolia on May 24, Saturday, in Candon, Ilocos Sur.
The Scores:
Converge 111 – Stockton 33, Winston 22, Arana 18, Baltazar 10, B.Santos 7, Caralipio 7, Garcia 6, Suerte 4, Fleming 2, Nermal 2, Ambohot 0, R.Santos 0, Racal 0, Delos Santos 0.
NorthPort 92 – Munzon 23, Navarro 20, Flores 14, Kwekuteye 12, Bulanadi 6, Miranda 5, Jalalon 4, Nelle 3, Onwubere 3, Cuntapay 2, Yu 0, Nava 0, Taha 0.
Quarterscores: 16-19, 50-40, 82-64, 111-92.
