ROOKIE Juan Gomez De Liano put on a show and anchored Converge’s meaningful win over Barangay Ginebra, 106-96, in their PBA Philippine Cup showdown on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The No. 2 overall pick in the last draft exploded for 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting to tow the FiberXers to their first win over the Kings in an all-Filipino conference.
De Liano highlighted his game-high output with a one-hander lefty against Ginebra matchup RJ Abarrientos that gave Converge a 100-91 win inside the final two minutes.
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Converge improved to a 5-2 record while sinking Barangay Ginebra to 2-4 slate.
De Liano went 3-of-4 from three-point range, 1-of-2 from the four-point line, added six rebounds and six assists as he became the first rookie to score 32-plus points since Mark Nonoy went for 33 points in a January game between Terrafirma and TNT during the Commissioner’s Cup.
Deschon Winston added 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists, Justin Arana with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, and sophomore Justine Baltazar had a well-rounded game of 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for the FiberXers who shot 51 percent from the field.
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Stephen Holt knocked in 24 points spiked by a 4-of-9 shooting from 3s, Abarrientos also had 24, while Scottie Thompson and Jayson David with 10 each for the Kings, who have now lost two of their last three outings.
The scores:
Converge (106) - Gomez de Liano 32, Winston 21, Arana 13, Baltazar 12, Stockton 9, Concepcion 6, Garcia 4, Muyang 3, Javillonar 2, Delos Santos 2, Racal 2, Caralipio 0, Clemente 0, Santos 0, Eguilos 0.
Ginebra (96) - Holt 24, Abarrientos 24, Thompson 10, David 10, J.Aguilar 7, Gray 7, Cu 6, Rosario 6, Torres 2, R.Aguilar 0.
Quarterscores: 26-24; 54-49; 72-72; 106-96.
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