Converge wrapped up its PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup campaign Wednesday night, May 1, with win No. 2 against TNT.
In a game that had nothing but pride at stake for Converge, the FiberXers went all out and derailed TNT, 107-103, in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup on Wednesday, May 1.
The FiberXers thus closed their All-Filipino conference campaign with a couple of victories in 11 games while denying the Tropang Giga an outright semifinals berth at 5-5.
“Our second group won it for us. I’ve been challenging them to play harder than the first group,” said Converge coach Aldin Ayo.
The second group, indeed, stepped up, with Aljun Melecio draining four triples on jis way to team-high 17 points.
Justin Arana and Bryan Santos chipped in 15 points, while King Caralipio had 14.
Pat Maagdenberg shone the brightest in the final frame, scoring 10 of his 12 points in a 14-3 run that gave Converge a 100-85 lead with 6:21 remaining.
But with the playoff spot at stake, the Tropang Giga refused to fold and leaned on Calvin Oftana and Roger Pogoy to unleash an 11-0 run capped by Glenn Khobuntin’s free throws,102-99 with 2:32 to go.
Schonny Winston took care of the cudgels for Converge from there, scoring five points that turned back a TNT side that went as close as 105-103 on Pogoy’s last-ditch triple with 16 left on the clock.
Winston then canned a pair of pressure-packed shots from the line with 10.7 ticks left for the final score.
The win spoiled a 33-point and 12-rebound outing by Oftana. Pogoy fired 29 points as TNT’s road to the playoffs became tougher than ever.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 107 – Melecio 17, Arana 15, Santos 15, Winston 13, Maagdenberg 12, Fornilos 8, Delos Santos 7, Stockton 4, Andrade, Nieto 0
TNT 103 – Oftana 33, Pogoy 29, Aurin 13, Khobuntin 11, Ponferrada 7, Castro 4, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Ebona 2, Varilla 2, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0
Quarterscores: 31-31, 57-52, 83-77, 107-103