The San Miguel Beermen got a new lease on life and beefed up their playoff chances in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
In basketball, plenty of things can happen in five minutes.
For Converge, it was enough to trim a 16-point deficit and make it a nip-and-tuck contest against San Miguel in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Friday night, Jan. 24.
Fortunately for the Beermen, they did just enough to stand their ground and secure a slim 116-113 victory to beef up their playoff chances.
Juami Tiongson spearheaded San Miguel's attack, finishing with 22 points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal to earn the Player of the Game honors.
Import Malik Pope also had his best performance in his first three games with the Beermen with his own 22 markers he laced with 14 rebounds, an assist, a steal and three blocks.
Eight-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo added 19 points and 14 rebounds.
“That’s one of the most important games for us to avoid any complication. We have to win because contenders for the eighth place are Magnolia and NLEX,” said SMB coach Leo Austria, whose team improved to 5-6.
“Before the game, I told them I don’t want to elaborate its importance. We have to be focused on our execution on our offense and defense.”
Austria could only heave a sigh of relief after the intense match.
That’s because after a relatively breezy first three quarters, the complexion of the match immediately shifted when Fajardo uncharacteristically had to walk back to the bench after being assessed his second flagrant foul with still 8:30 remaining in the game and with San Miguel leading by 16 points.
The FiberXers exploited those precious minutes and staged a spirited uprising led by rookie Jordan Heading.
Before the Beermen knew it, Converge closed in, 113-114, on reinforcement Cheick Diallo’s putback with 1:40 left to play.
Austria added immaturity in the endgame did not help SMB's cause.
“Our players were so emotional to the point na nakakakuha kami ng mga technical fouls. We should learn from that,” Austria said.
“Maturity is something we have to consider to improve our team.”
Meanwhile, Diallo paced Converge with 28 pints, 11 rebounds, two assists and a block.
Heading fired 25 points, including two crucial four-pointers, but his efforts in the endgame went for naught.
Converge ended the elimination round with an 8-4 tally.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 116 – Pope 22, Tiongson 22, Fajardo 19, Trollano 17, Perez 11, Lassiter 10, Cruz 6, Tautuaa 6, Cahilig 3, Ross 0.
CONVERGE 113 – Diallo 28, Heading 25, Stockton 19, Baltazar 13, Racal 8, Andrade 6, Winston 5, Delos Santos 4, Santos 3, Javillonar 2, Cabagnot 0, Ambohot 0.
Quarterscores: 29-16, 65-48, 99-81, 116-113