Alec Stockton atones for an early game mistake as he hit the game-winning shot for Converge against the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Governors' Cup playoffs.
Converge FiberXers’ Alec Stockton got his emotions in check just in time to lead his team to a dramatic win over the San Miguel Beermen, taking Game 3 of the 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, 114-112, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Monday.
After getting slapped with a flagrant 1 foul at the tail-end of the opening quarter due to an altercation with Kris Rosales, Stockton hit the buzzer-beating shot to keep the FiberXers alive in the best-of-five series.
[Related: Alec Stockton hits buzzer-beater as Converge comes back from 27 down to shock SMB]
It was Converge’s first-ever playoff win since taking over the Alaska franchise in 2022. The FiberXers lost their previous six playoff games, five of them against San Miguel.
Prior to the buzzer-beater, the rest of the Converge team seemed to regain their bearings along with Stockton, even as they found themselves down by as many as 27 points, 83-56, late in the third quarter.
With a nothing to lose mentality, Stockton and Converge began to slowly chip away at the deficit.
“Coach told us that if we were gonna go down this game, we’re gonna go down swinging. So, we have nothing to lose, we’re down 0-2 and we just kept fighting. I mean, I’m speechless right now,” said Stockton.
Stockton’s jumper as time expired capped an incredible 48-point quarter for the FiberXers.
Bryan Santos and Schonny Winston also caught fire when it mattered the most, coming to the aid of import Jalen Jones who was clearly fatigued by the end of their comeback bid.
Winston in particular went on a personal tear in the final two minutes of play where he scored or assisted on eight of Converge’s last 10 points in the ball game.
He hit two clutch free throws to make it a three-point lead for the FiberXers, 112-109, with 10.9 ticks left.
But Stockton would make one last mistake before he atoned for himself with the game winner as he fouled Marcio Lassiter from the three-point line, sending the veteran shooter to the charity stripe with 6.2 seconds remaining.
Owing to his experience, Lassiter was able to calmly make all three shots to bring the game to deadlock anew.
Fortunately for Converge and Stockton, it was their side that had the last laugh as the buzzer sounded.
“We just didn’t give up, no matter what was thrown our way. We were down 0-2, we were down 19 or 20, we just kept fighting back and we just rode that,” said Stockton.
Stockton flirted with the triple-double in their comeback victory as he ended up with 20 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.
Justin Arana, initially doubtful due to knee issues, actually led Converge in scoring with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jones added 17 points and 14 rebounds.
San Miguel got 39 points from import EJ Anosike, while CJ Perez finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.