Converge averted disaster and escaped NorthPort by way of a vengeful 107-99 victory to finally lay its three-game losing skid to rest in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The FiberXers squandered a 16-point lead and fell behind by four points, 99-95, with 2:08 remaining in the game, but the troika of Bryan Santos, Alec Stockton, and Deschon Winston came through with the run to save the night.
“We just wanted to slow the game down somehow, but you cannot really put a good team at bay for so long. It just so happened that during the fourth quarter we had our resolve,” said interim head coach Franco Atienza.
Santos first cut the gap to a point through a triple off a Scotty Hopson assist, and Stockon, moments later, completed a three-point play after attacking Venky Jois to give themselves the 101-99 lead approaching the final minute.
Winston then helped complete a stop on the other end and took it upon himself to push their lead to four through a pull-up with 46.6 seconds to go, before Stockton put the game away with a pair of free throws with 23.9 ticks left.
All in all, including Hopson’s insurance basket just before the final buzzer, the FiberXers ended the match with 12 unanswered points to improve to 3-4 — and get back at the team that beat them previously, 135-109, last August 29.
“We made an ugly win, but we’ll take it,” Atienza said. “Especially right now, at this stage of the eliminations, we needed this. It’s a virtual playoff for us.”
Stockton finished with 21 points and five rebounds to lead Converge. Winston fell just a rebound short of a double-double with 17 and nine.
Santos fired five triples for 15 points. Hopson, despite nursing a leg injury, tallied 12 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and two steals, while Kevin Racal added 10 as five players finished in double figures in the crucial win.
Venky Jois, meanwhile, had 24 points and 14 rebounds for NorthPort in the loss that saw him get 27 of the team’s 57 attempts from the free throw line.
He made just 12 of the shots he was awarded as he struggled to capitalize on the opportunities he was given through the charity stripe.
Arvin Tolentino added 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Batang Pier failed to keep their winning ways from a 133-107 victory over Terrafirma the last time out, eventually dropping 3-4 although they are still at fourth in Group A.
But the loss, and the match itself, got overshadowed by the commotion during the customary postgame handshake triggered by a heated exchange between NorthPort Gov. Erick Arejola and Converge assistant Danny Ildefonso.
Both Arejola and Ildefonso refused to comment on the matter that added another chapter to what’s become a beef between the two camps, stemming from Ildefonso’s “farm team” allegations he made via Facebook.
The Scores:
Converge 107 – Stockton 21, Winston 17, Santos 15, Hopson 12, Racal 10, Delos Santos 9, Ambohot 6, Nieto 6, Cabagnot 5, Arana 4, Andrade 2, Vigan-Fleming 0, Fornilos 0, Caralipio 0, Zaldivar 0.
NorthPort 99 – Jois 24, Tolentino 21, Munzon 13, Navarro 11, Jalalon 9, Nelle 7, Cuntapay 5, Amores 4, Tratter 3, Flores 2, Yu 0, Bulanadi 0, Onwubere 0.
Quarterscores: 29-26, 57-43, 71-71, 107-99
