Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
(c) PBA Images

Basketball

PBA: Encho Serrano wills Phoenix past Converge


Encho Serrano strapped Phoenix Super LPG on his back and towed them past Converge, 106-103, to win back-to-back outings for the first time in the PBA Governors’ Cup, Sunday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

The rookie guard scored all of his 28 points in the second half, none bigger than the go-ahead one-hander to break the 103-all deadlock with 18.7 ticks left to play as he willed his side back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit.

Solid coverage on Jamaal Franklin plus Tyler Tio’s split from the line were all enough to complete the comeback — and keep their playoff hopes very much alive as the ball club improved to 3-5 in the team standings.

“Lagi lang sinasabi ni Coach Jamike na always ready lang. Kasi kanina, noong first half, iniisip ko, gusto ko kasing tumulong talaga,” said Serrano as he was scoreless in the entire first half.

“Noong pinasok ako ni Coach Jamike, ‘yung confidence ko, hindi naman nawawala kasi knowing coach Jamike, alam ko naman na gagamitin niya ako kaya yung kumpiyansa ko hindi naman mawawala,” the native of Pampanga added.

Du’Vaughn Maxwell came through with 19 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a game-high five blocks in the win.

Tio and Jason Perkins also made their own marks by finishing with 16 points apiece for Phoenix in the come-from-behind victory.

“As we said before the game, we got a good rest coming into this game so that was our advantage. We were ready to go up and down for 48 minutes,” offered interim head coach Jamike Jarin.

#ReadMore  PBA Press Corps honor all 12 teams for sacrifice amid pandemic

“I think they got a little tired towards the end, that’s why we were able to get the win,” offered the veteran bench tactician.

Jamaal Franklin, meanwhile, led Converge with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in the loss that dropped the team to 6-3.

Wasted by the defeat too was the solid performances of numerous players in Jerrick Balanza, Alec Stockton, Justin Arana, Kevin Racal, and Jeron Teng, who each supplied 11 markers. Maverick Ahanmisi added 10.

The Scores:

Phoenix Super LPG 106 – Serrano 28, Maxwell 19, Perkins 16, Tio 16, Muyang 8, Mocon 7, Camaco 4, Jazul 3, Manganti 3, Garcia 2, Alejandro 0.

Converge 103 – Franklin 30, Stockton 11, Balanza 11, Racal 11, Teng 11, Ahanmisi 10, Arana 8, Ebona 4, Tratter 4, Browne 0.

Quarterscores: 23-24, 42-49, 66-69, 106-103.

The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.

Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

Converge head coach Aldin Ayo is leaving Maverick Ahanmisi’s situation to the management as he chooses to focus solely on building up the team....

Basketball

Converge pulled away in the second quarter and left Terrafirma in the dust, 119-82, to open its PBA On Tour campaign on a high...

Basketball

Tyler Tio and Raul Soyud saved Phoenix Super LPG from a massive collapse against San Miguel, 106-101, for a triumphant start to their PBA...

Basketball

Encho Serrano is leaving the Philippine Basketball Association for now. The athletic 6-foot guard bid farewell to Phoenix Super LPG on Tuesday with his...

Basketball

Making the game much faster. That is the goal of new rules set to be tested during the upcoming PBA on Tour games beginning...

Basketball

The PBA Commissioner’s Office has slapped hefty fines on 10 players for their participation in ‘ligang labas’ gigs without permission from their mother teams....

Basketball

Peter Alfaro drained the game-winning trey as Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda stunned reigning champion EcoOil-La Salle, 82-79, to barge into the winner’s circle of the...

ESports

TNT continued to show the same level of success in competitive sports outside of basketball. After taking the grand slam in PBA 3×3 and...

Advertisement