Justin Arana came in clutch as Converge pumped life to its playoff hopes, sending Blackwater to its fourth straight demise, 92-90, in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Wednesday.
After a three-point play by Jvee Casio that put the Bossing ahead, 90-88, with 47.7 seconds to go, Arana went to work.
He first drained the game-tying deuce before swatting Casio on the other end to set up his game-winning floater with 8.4 ticks left.
In the ensuing play, Casio found Barkley Eboña in the paint but the latter missed point blank.
“We made it clear what we are playing for, which is to give us a higher chance to make the playoffs, it being our first conference,” said Converge head coach Jeffrey Cariaso.
“We wanted to also make sure to come out better, because we know deep inside that we’re better than what we showed last game. And we wanted to come out here and play better and I think the guys did that,” he continued.
The FiberXers rose to 5-6 at eighth, while the Bossing slipped to 5-5, tied with NLEX for sixth.
With the result, Northport and Phoenix have been officially out of contention for the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Rain or Shine needs to win later today versus Magnolia to stay alive.
Arana the hero finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and a block. Maverick Ahanmisi topscored for Converge with 18 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
Abu Tratter also chimed in a double-double for the victors with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bossing were led by Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks.
Casio ended with 16 points while Baser Amer had 14 in the loss.
Blackwater will try to clinch a playoff spot in its last game of eliminations on Friday, 6:00 PM, against Magnolia.
The Scores:
Converge 92 – Ahanmisi 18, Arana 13, Tratter 10, Stockton 9, Bulanadi 8, Ilagan 8, DiGregorio 7, Hill 6, Tolomia 4, Murrell 4, Adamos 2, Racal 2, Ambohot 1, Browne 0
Blackwater 90 – Ganuelas-Rosser 20, Casio 16, Amer 14, Suerte 12, Sena 9, Ebona 6, Taha 4, Melton 4, McCarthy 3, Publico 2, Ayonayon 0, Escoto 0, Dyke 0
Quarterscores: 28-23, 46-47, 63-70, 92-90
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
