ANTIPOLO – Justin Arana scored on a lay-up off a pass from Alec Stockton with 5.8 seconds left as Converge came back from a 20-point deficit to stun Magnolia, 93-91, on Sunday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center.
The heroics of Arana and Stockton enabled the FiberXers to come back from a 65-45 deficit and capture their second win in three games in a stretch of five days while dealing the Hotshots their first loss in two games.
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Prior to making the Arana marginal basket, Stockton tied the game at 91-all with a gutsy pull-up three-pointer with 43.7 seconds left.
Arana finished with 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds while Stockton had fell short of a triple double after collecting 18 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds against Magnolia.
The two stepped up as Chieck Diallo endured an off-night. He ended up with 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting from the field although he grabbed 16 rebounds.
Converge coach Franco Atienza was gladdened by the huge win against last season’s conference runner-up.
“We just grind it out,” said Atienza. “We were down 15 at the half, 20 in the third. This is a perennial title contender. It’s a champion team laden with talent. We were lucky to escape this.”
Converge slowly clawed its way back from that 20-point deficit midway through the third quarter, cutting the deficit to eight, 75-67, at the end of the period.
Magnolia was still ahead, 91-85, on a Mark Barroca lay-up with 2:28 left but that was the final time the Hotshots scored.
Diallo made a three-point play with 1:16 remaining to begin an 8-0 finishing kick for the FiberXers. Jerrick Ahanmisi missed a three-pointer at the end of the game that coud've sent the game into overtime.
Ricardo Ratliffe had 25 points and 19 rebounds, while Jerom Lastimosa had 14 points, their efforts going down the drain for the Hotshots.
The scores:
Converge 93 – Arana 24, Stockton 18, Racal 19, Diallo 10, Heading 8, Santos 8, Andrade 5, Winston 5, Nieto 3, Delos Santos 2.
Magnolia 91 – Ratliffe 25, Lastimosa 14, Sangalang 12, Ahanmisi 12, Lee 10, Lucero 10, Barroca 6, Laput 0, Dionisio 0.
Quarters: 22-26; 38-53; 67-75; 93-91.
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