Converge finally stopped the bleeding following a 103-94 overtime victory against the hungry Terrafirma to break through in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Wednesday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Jamil Wilson provided the stabilizing presence in the extra period, scoring the first five points of the decisive 11-0 run towards a 99-90 lead with 1:41 left that proved enough for the FiberXers to notch win no. 1 after an 0-6 start.
“We were able to make some stops and hit shots,” said head coach Aldin Ayo. “It was tough. Everybody was disappointed because of the results of our past games. But we just continued preparing, and continued practicing hard.”
The former NBA cager finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists as the club finally shed the label of being the only winless team in the meet.
Rookie Deschon Winston made 17 points and six rebounds while sophomore big man Justin Arana supplied 14 points and eight boards.
“If you’re in that slump, sometimes you doubt what you’re doing, you doubt your game. But we just told the players to keep on pushing,” said the young bench tactician. “I told them to loosen up and enjoy the game.”
Converge will look to build off this win and gun for another as it takes on Meralco on Sunday, December 17. 3 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Juami Tiongson, meanwhile, finished with 28 points and fie rebounds to lead the Dyip, which fell to their fourth straight loss — the conference’s second-worst skid just behind Blackwater, who’s in the midst of a six-game losing run.
Stephen Holt had 14 points while Javi Gomez de Liano added 14 off the bench. Import Thomas de Thaey added 12 and 19 in the defeat.
It was Gomez de Liano who tied the game at 88-all after banking in a three-pointer with 4.4 seconds left in regulation, capping off an 8-2 run for his team after facing a six-point deficit with under three minutes remaining.
Tiongson then gave themselves the 90-88 lead to open extra time but they couldn’t keep their hold of it as Wilson, Arana, and rookie JL Delos Santos joined forces for the telling run that allowed Converge to put the game away.
Terrafirma fell once again to the only remaining active franchise it has not beaten, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
The road won’t get any easier for the Dyip as they face no. 1 seed Magnolia next Wednesday, December 20, 8 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Converge 103 – Wilson 32, Winston 17, Arana 14, Stockton 9, Nieto 7, Racal 6, Delos Santos 6, Wong 5, Balanza 4, Santos 3, Ambohot 0.
Terrafirma 94 – Tiongson 28, Holt 14, Gomez de Liano 13, De Thaey 12, Ramos 6, Alolino 5, Camson 5, Carino 4, Cahilig 3, Calvo 2, Miller 2, Go 0, Daquioag 0.
Quarterscores: 18-22, 43-38, 60-63, 88-88, 103-94.
