MANILA, Philippines – Converge stayed in the hunt for a breakthrough semifinal stint as it kept itself alive once more in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Drawing prolific performances from Schonny Winston and Justin Arana, the FiberXers dragged San Miguel to a sudden death in the quarterfinals after a 114-100 win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday, October 4.
Winston finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Arana posted 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists as Converge came back from the dead after losing the first two games of the best-of-five series.
“It feels really good after going down 0-2, especially against San Miguel which is a strong team. Pushing it to Game 5 was definitely what we wanted to do from the beginning,” said Winston.
Winston took over in the third quarter, scattering 16 points in the period as the FiberXers swung a 51-55 halftime deficit to an 88-79 lead going into the final frame.
His teammates picked up where Winston left off, with King Caralipio and Bryan Santos sinking timely buckets in the fourth salvo.
Caralipio scored 5 of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, while Santos — who totaled 9 points — drained back-to-back three-pointers that gave Converge a 109-95 cushion with 2:40 minutes remaining.
“I feel like we all came out today, played as a team, and executed really well,” said Winston.
Alec Stockton delivered anew for the FiberXers with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists after hitting the game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 3.
Import EJ Anosike paced the Beermen with 35 points and 11 rebounds.
The Scores
Converge 114 – Winston 26, Arana 25, Jones 22, Stockton 16, Caralipio 10, Santos 9, Cabagnot 5, Ambohot 1, Delos Santos 0, Nieto 0, Andrade 0.
San Miguel 100 – Anosike 35, Fajardo 17, Lassiter 15, Perez 11, Cruz 10, Romeo 5, Trollano 4, Rosales 2, Tautuaa 1, Ross 0, Enciso 0, Brondial 0, Manuel 0.
Quarters : 31-29, 51-55, 88-79, 114-100.
– Rappler.com
