MANILA, January 15 ------ The Converge FiberXers completed a 17-point comeback en route to a huge victory over the Rain or Shine ElastoPainters to further boost their Top 2 hopes. The Franco Atienza and Charles Tiu coached team stunned Rain or Shine, 103-96, in their PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup faceoff at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Alec Stockton fired 21 points with five assists and four rebounds to help the FiberXers move up to 7-3. Jordan Heading backstopped him with 17 markers, three rebounds, and three assists, while Justin Arana and Kevin Racal followed with 15 markers and 11 boards, and 13 points (4/4 3pts) respectively. “For me, I played really bad in our last games so I wanted to make sure to bounce back this game and give my team a chance to win,” said Stockton, who posted 17 of his total production in the last frame.
Only a four-point game midway through the fourth period, Stockton hit a triple to give his team an 88-81 lead at the 6:27 mark and create a much-needed advantage for his team. Jordan Heading then went on a personal spurt later on by scoring six straight markers, and Stockton followed this by scoring four straight to push their distance to 12, 100-88, to seal the victory. Earlier in the contest, the E-Painters charged an 11-to-nothing start to the game which was opened by a three-pointer by Beau Belga and ended by a Dean Thompson deuce. This blazing opener by Rain or Shine helped them to distance themselves by as many as 17, 27-10, after a Jhonard Clarito basket with still 3:15 left in the first period, but Converge was able to slowly crawl back and avoid fading into the sunset just like that.
The FiberXers, all thanks to Justine Baltazar, Racal, Schonny Winston, and Bryan Santos, cut their deficit to nine, 33-24, early in the second period, and six straight points from Arana, Cheick Diallo, and JL Delos Santos at the same frame’s 2:00 mark allowed them to tie the game at 41. Some 55 seconds later, Winston’s basket finally gave Converge a two-point lead, while Racal and Diallo ended the first 24 minutes of action by hitting a three-pointer and a shot from the foul line, respectively, for a 47-43 halftime cushion. This eventually allowed the FiberXers to build a 68-58 lead in the third period, but Rain or Shine had their run in the same quarter — one that was sparked by the ejection of their head coach Yeng Guiao — and they charged their own version of an 11-to-zero surge for a slim 69-68 advantage following three-pointers by Thompson and Belga.
Unfortunately for RoS, which absorbed their second straight loss after winning five consecutive games, Stockton took charge in the fourth period wherein he led Converge to another double-digit lead in the second half. Clarito led the E-Painters with 24 markers and six boards, while Thompson’s 22-point, 22-rebound outing went for naught as they fell to 5-3.
The Scores:
Converge 103 – Stockton 21, Heading 17, Arana 15, Racal 13, Diallo 8, Baltazar 8, Winston 7, Delos Santos 6, Santos 6, Caralipio 2, Ambohot 0, Nieto 0.
Rain or Shine 96 – Clarito 24, Thompson 22, Belga 14, Santillan 6, Nocum 7, Asistio 5, Tiongson 5, Ildefonso 2, Norwood 0, Datu 0, Lemetti 0.
Quarterscores: 17-30, 47-43, 73-69, 103-96.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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