Schonny Winston did pretty much everything in Converge’s second straight win over San Miguel in Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup QF on Friday, Oct. 4.
It was Schonny Winston’s turn this time around.
Four days after Alec Stockton nailed the game-winner for Converge in the face of San Miguel defender CJ Perez, Winston took care of the cudgels and the FiberXers came away with another win, 114-100, against the mighty Beermen in Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals on Friday, Oct. 4.
Winston hit 9 of his 16 attempts from the field while notching a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line to topscore with 26 points.
He also tallied six rebounds and five assists for Converge, which forced a sudden death on Sunday, Oct. 6.
[WATCH: Converge holds off San Miguel, forces winner-take-all Game 5 in QF | PBA Highlights]
FiberXers head coach Franco Atienza could not help but be pleased with his ward's performance.
“He played stellar. He was in control. He was making his shots; he was defending; [he did] everything,” Atienza said of the Filipino-American cager.
Winston, though, refused to hog the credit.
“Alec had eight assists, I have five assists, Justin has four assists, and we’re all pretty good scorers. Sharing the ball like that is something special,” said Winston.
True enough, he had plenty of help.
Justin Arana turned in a second-best 25 points he spiked with eight rebounds, four assists a steal and a block. Meanwhile, Import Jalen Jones came through with 22 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Jones actually was called for a flagrant foul penalty 1 infraction against Marcio Lassiter with Converge up, 103-89, sending him to the bench for three minutes with just 3:53 remaining.
While Lassiter nailed his freebies and June Mar Fajardo and EJ Anosike tried to rally the Beermen, San Miguel could not capitalize on the crucial loss of Jones as the locals carried the fight for Converge to the finish.
Bryan Santos drained three triples while Arana poured five points thereafter to seal it for the FiberXers, who now closed in on a semifinal series against Ginebra.
Santos finished with nine points.
Game 3 hero Stockton, responsible for the dagger at the buzzer, scored 16, the bulk of which in the first half, while King Caralipio added 10 markers, anchored on two huge triples, for the FiberXers, who now closed in on a semifinal series against Ginebra.
The Beermen, who absorbed a 114-112 loss in Game Three after Stockton's buzzer-beating game winner, drew 35 points and 11 rebounds from EJ Anosike but still could not avoid stumbling for a second time to Converge.
San Miguel is actually coming off another setback against Suwon KT in the East Asia Super League, 81-87, held at the Mall of Asia Arena just two days ago.
June Mar Fajardo put in eight points in the first quarter against the FiberXers, but was held scoreless in the second. He finished with 17 points he topped with 20 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Marcio Lassiter drilled in three triples for 15 points while CJ Perez scored 11.
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, Anndrade 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.
Quarterscores: 31-29, 51-55, 88-79, 114-100