Scotty did it again.
Injured hamstring and all, the 35-year-old Hopson nailed another killer four as Converge left Terrafirma heartbroken anew, 100-99, for its first back-to-back wins in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, Saturday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Having proven himself as more than capable of knocking down the 27-footer, the FiberXers went to him again for the go-ahead bucket as they were staring at a 99-96 deficit with only 6.6 seconds remaining in the game.
Hopson delivered. He first dribbled to his right moments after catching the baseline inbound of BJ Andrade, then pulled the trigger against the outstretched arms of opposing wing Kevin Ferrer and nailed it with 2.5 ticks left to play.
The Dyip tried to save themselves by going to Antonio Hester for the game-winner, but Converge prevented him from getting a good look at the basket as the team went on to mob Hopson and celebrated at center court.
“Lightning struck twice for us,” said interim coach Franco Atienza. “As you saw, talagang grind-out eh. We don’t know our chances pag nag-overtime pa. It’s just nice that that four-point is available and again, Scotty Hopson is there.”
Hopson finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in the victory that showed shades of their 96-95 escape from TNT last August 29 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, where he nailed the first-ever game-winning four in the league.
The second game-winner from the second arc came from him, too, much to the delight of the whole FiberXers as it hiked their card to 4-4, effectively rising to the fourth spot of Group A behind TNT, Meralco, and Magnolia.
“I was in the same spot when he hit against TNT. It felt like deja vu. It was weird because I watched the same trajectory and it was like a flash of deja vu. And the gym was quiet and then he made it. It was crazy,” Deschon Winston recalled.
Winston himself, though, wasn’t just a mere spectator in the win as he had a huge imprint on it, too. The sophomore guard top-scored for Converge with 19 points, alongside seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
Winston scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter alone, including six inside the game’s final 1:49 as he personally chipped away a seven-point deficit and turned it to just a point, 96-97, with 16.2 seconds on the clock.
Then came Hopson, making sure his efforts wouldn’t go in vain.
“We have another toss-coin situation where it goes 50-50 in that last shot of Scotty. We appreciate that. But of course, it wouldn’t be possible without this guy grinding. It’s a grind-out game,” said Franco, referring to Winston.
Alec Stockton supplied 15 points, while Justin Arana and Bryan Santos added 13 points apiece for the FiberXers, who will look to keep their winning ways against the group’s current 2-seed in the Bolts on September 18.
Over at the other side, Terrafirma bowed out of contention after absorbing its seventh loss in as many games, with the latest, to make it worse, compounding on the heartbreak it suffered two nights ago to Magnolia, 99-98.
Hester led the Dyip with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Paolo Hernandez and Kevin Ferrer made 15 points each, with the latter adding 10 rebounds. Stanley Pringle added 14 markers in the loss.
Without Christian Standhardinger and Juami Tiongson due to injuries, Terrafirma will now head into its remaining matches against TNT and Meralco, respectively, keen, of course, to finish their conference strongly.
The Scores:
Converge 100 – Winston 19, Hopson 18, Stockton 15, Arana 13, Santos 13, Delos Santos 9, Andrade 6, Cabagnot 3, Caralipio 2, Nieto 2, Ambohot 0.
Terrafirma 99 – Hester 28, Hernandez 15, Cahilig 15, Pringle 14, Ferrer 8, Carino 8, Ramos 5, Hanapi 4, Sangalang 2, Olivario 0.
Quarterscores: 20-24, 40-52, 71-73, 100-99.
