FOR the very first time, Converge is in a PBA semifinals.
The FiberXers closed out the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal series against Rain or Shine with an impressive Game 4 win, 120-109, on Friday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Back-to-back threes by Mikey Williams gave Converge a 115-107 lead and essentially sealed the 3-1 win in the series and secured a duel with NLEX in the FiberXers' first semis appearance since joining the league in 2022.
READ Feeling disrepected, Ross says verbal spat vs Racela fired him up
Converge celebrated the maiden semifinal appearance like it had won a championship, with the jubilant players and their supporters reveling on the court.
They made it to the semifinals after the eighth quarterfinal appearance of the franchise this conference, completing the 3-1 series win by winning the last three games.
“Puso,” said Converge coach Delta Pineda when asked how they were able to pull off the Game 4 win. “In the crucial situation, they didn’t give up. Even though na lalamang kami, hahabol, they stayed focused on the game plan.”
Williams finished with 17 points while shooting 4-of-10 from three-point range, and grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Cameron Clark added 32 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and four steals, while Juan Gomez de Liano had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The ejection of Calvin Abueva for accumulating two technical fouls due to flopping late in the third quarter didn’t dampen the spirits of the FiberXers.
Aaron Fuller had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Adrian Nocum had a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists, but shot just 3-of-11 from the field and committed five turnovers, a few of which came in the end game.
The scores:
Converge 120 – Clark 32, Williams 17, Arana 16, Stockton 14, Gomez de Liano 13, Abueva 11, Baltazar 9, Policarpio 5, Garcia 2, Tungcab 1, Santos 0, Concepcion 0.
Rain or Shine 109 – Fuller 23, Clarito 18, Tiongson 14, Lemetti 13, Malonzo 13, Villegas 11, Nocum 10, Cuajao 5, Caracut 2, Manaytay 0.
Quarters: 39-27; 62-60; 89-87; 120-109.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
