EASTERN notched its second straight win, holding off Converge, 117-106, on Friday to take the solo lead in the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Cameron Clark knocked down key shots in the fourth quarter to keep Converge at bay and give Eastern a 2-0 (win-loss) card to start its guest stint in the local league.
Clark finished with 39 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks for Eastern, which will return to Hong Kong to play in the domestic league before returning to Manila for their Wednesday clash against Rain or Shine.
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Hayden Blankley added 21 points and 10 rebounds while fellow former Bay Area Dragons player Glen Yang contributed 19 points for Eastern, which also got a lift from Steven Guinchard's 14 points.
Clark hit 10 points in the fourth quarter to keep Converge at bay. The former NLEX and San Miguel import buried a three with 2:12 remaining to hike the lead to 111-102, as it dealt Converge its first defeat after a promising start to the conference.
Eastern coach Mensur Bajramovic said the team is still a work in progress, especially when it comes to cohesion.
“We fought well,” said Bajramovic. “Actually, each game there are mistakes and it’s not possible without mistakes. But we tried to minimize the mistakes tonight.”
“We had some problems in our offense in some period of the game, but that’s what the opponent gave you, they played good defense. At the same time, we had a pretty consistent defense all game. For us, it’s a big win, to be honest."
The loss spoiled Cheick Diallo’s 43-point, nine-rebound outing for the FiberXers, who slipped to 1-1 after an opening win over Terrafirma.
Alec Stockton had 18 points after being limited to only seven in the first game of the conference, while Jordan Heading added 13 points.
The scores:
Eastern 117 – Clark 39, Blankley 21, Yang 19, Guinchard 14, Lam 11, Cheung 4, Cao 3, Chan 2, Pok 2, Xu 2.
Converge 106 – Diallo 43, Stockton 18, Heading 13, Winston 12, Arana 10, Racal 5, Nieto 5, Delos Santos 0, Santos 0, Javillonar 0.
Quarters: 21-20; 58-55; 91-83; 117-106.
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