Converge turned things around in the second half by slowing down and eventually stopping Rain or Shine, 107-97, to extend its winning streak to three in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
The FiberXers struggled to keep up with the Elasto Painters’ fast-paced attack during the first two quarters but simply played their own brand after the break, leaning on defense to take the lead for good before finishing strongly.
As a result, the wards of Coach Franco Atienza improved to 4-2 in the standings after snapping the two-game winning streak of their undermanned foes.
(C) PBA Images
“Before this game, Rain or Shine was the no. 1 scoring team sa liga, bar none, and ‘yung pace nila, sobrang bilis eh,” offered Atienza post-game.
“They dictated the tempo during the first half, sobrang bilis ng game. I’m just glad that our players were able to turn it around, meaning, we resisted the temptation to go fast,” he added. “The credit goes to the players.”
Deschon Winston led the way with 24 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Alec Stockton delivered 24 points as well, as the backcourt tandem helped ward off the opposition’s multiple tries to come back down the stretch.
Their efforts also ensured that the strong performances of lead big men Justin Arana and Justin Baltazar won’t go down the drain.
Arana, for one, overcame a bad shooting night and wound up with 18 points and 17 rebounds, which he laced with six assists and three assists.
It was actually the 6-foot-6 bruiser who struck the dagger, scoring underneath off a lob by Winston to make it a 105-95 lead with 42.5 seconds left.
Baltazar, on the other hand, came through with 13 points and 22 rebounds to notch his fourth consecutive double-double outing, and added three blocks.
The frontcourt duo, indeed, took advantage of RoS’ predicament as it continued to miss Beau Belga (vertigo) and Caelan Tiongson (back spasms).
(C) PBA Images
Carrying the load for the Elasto Painters were Santi Santillan and Gian Mamuyac as they had 26 and 25 points, respectively, in the loss.
Recently named the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week, Santillan scored 20 in the first half to help his team to a 54-53 lead at the half.
But Converge pulled off the necessary adjustments, leading to a 31-point production in the third quarter to take an 84-78 lead, never to let up.
The Scores:
Converge 107 – Winston 24, Stockton 24, Arana 18, Baltazar 13, Racal 9, Suerte 7, Caralipio 5, Garcia 4, Santos 2, Corpuz 1, Delos Santos 0, Nermal 0, Ambohot 0.
Rain or Shine 97 – Santillan 26, Mamuyac 25, Nocum 11, Lemetti 6, Norwood 5, Caracut 5, Asistio 5, Clarito 2, Escandor 1, Malonzo 0.
Quarterscores: 25-31, 53-54, 84-78, 107-97.
