Alec Stockton (with ball) was coach Aldin Ayo’s target all night long as the FiberXers fell victim to the first championship contenders in their rough start to the end of the season convention.—PHOTOS OF AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Confronted with a championship contender after dealing with two vault dwellers, Converge made a good account with his spectacular 111-109 escape from Magnolia on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. .
FiberXers maintained the perfect spot in the Governors Cup knockouts, using a tough determination late in the game to ultimately deny Hotshots—the team that ultimately dominated the third outside conference. Barangay Ginebra for the past five years—an exciting convention premiere.
“This is very important to us because the Hotshots were one of the teams that beat us in the last game,” Converge coach Aldin Ayo told the Inquirer shortly after his attack escaped. on a high rope in front of a noisy crowd in the arena on the top of the hill.
“We also woke up. We had a 14 lead before, and I thought to myself, this is like déjà vu. It’s good that the players reacted – especially in defence. We were able to make some stops,” he continued.
The two clubs also found a frenetic final match last October, when Magnolia overcame a double-digit deficit to prevail, 109-105.
San Miguel Beer kicked off the Jorge Gallent era with a late night 114-93 win over Phoenix.
The Beermen doubled the lead on Fuel Masters in the first quarter, leading 42-21 in the second, and were never threatened from there.
Converge avoided that repeat as importing Jamaal Franklin took the lead with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, not really needing to compare his previous 42-pointer output with those FiberXers locals also stepped up to the achievement.
Maverick Ahanmisi is maintaining his good form at this tournament by picking up 22 points, while Alec Stockton split 18 points as Converge won the third game in a row, getting off to a much better start in the Commission Cup. members with a score of 1-2.
Aljun Melecio and Jeron Teng also finished with at least 11 points each as FiberXers braced for Rain or Shine 0-2.
Beware of Yeng
However, Ayo feels he will face a lot of resistance against a crew that has always proven himself to be a tough guy to break.
“The Painters are a formidable group. And Coach Yeng [Guiao] Ayo said. “We beat them last time, thanks to Justin. [Arana’s] shoot. It will be a tough game for us.”
Magnolia got the merchandise from Erik McCree, who scored 38 points and 16 bounces and helped the Hotshots twice to two points in a two-point round.
But Convergence won’t be denied, with Franklin scoring the final five for the FiberXers, and the locals forcing the Hotshots international athlete to take a nasty treble in his dying moments.
Paul Lee had 21 points and 4 assists, while Jio Jalalon and Calvin Abueva finished with at least 12 points in the losing attempt.
Now, Magnolia has her eyes on a TNT team that is off to a good start under Jojo Lastimosa, the team’s manager replacing Chot Reyes. request
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