CONVERGE stretched Northport’s PBA Philippine Cup slump with a 111-92 thrashing Friday at the Philsports Arena.
Alec Stockton was hot from the get-go for the FiberXers, scoring 19 of his game-high 33 points in the opening half where Converge began to pull away for good.
Schonny Winston added 22 for the FiberXers, who improved to 5-3 overall and bounced back from a 85-66 loss to Barangay Ginebra in an out-of-town game in San Fernando, Pampanga last weekend.
The free fall meanwhile, continues for Northport which suffered a fifth straight loss as it sank to 1-5 wihle playing without top scorer Arvin Tolentino.
READ Two top PBA officials suspended for failure to call F2 on Hodge
“I’m just glad that coming off a really bad loss, a bad game against Barangay Ginebra, it was a good bounce back win for us. Somehow bumalik kami on how we want to play our game,” said Converge coach Franco Atienza.
Stockton was 5-of-9 from deep, 6-of-8 from the foul line, and had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals to cap his second career-best output.
Converge Twin Towers Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar again came through each with a double-double. Arana had 18 and 14 rebounds and Baltazar, the season’s top rookie pick, added 10 and 11 boards.
But it was Stockton and Winston who spearheaded that second quarter breakaway by the FiberXers, combining for 25 of the team’s 34 points in the period which ended at 50-40 in favor of Converge after trailing by three in the first quarter.
The Batang Pier never recovered in the second half, which saw them trail by as many as 107-84 in the fourth quarter.
Joshua Munzon finished with 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists in leading Northport, which was without Tolentino (hip injury) for the third straight game.
William Navarro backed up Munzon with 20 and nine boards, while sophomore forward Cade Flores added 14 and eight rebounds.
The scores
Converge (111) - Stockton 33, Winston 22, Arana 18, Baltazar 10, B.Santos 7, Caralipio 7, Garcia 6, Suerte 4, Fleming 2, Nermal 2, Ambohot 0, R.Santos 0, Racal 0, Delos Santos 0.
Northport (92) - Munzon 23, Navarro 20, Flores 14, Kwekuteye 12, Bulanadi 6, Miranda 5, Jalalon 4, Nelle 3, Onwubere 3, Cuntapay 2, Yu 0, Nava 0, Taha 0.
Quarterscores: 16-19; 50-40; 82-64; 111-92.
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.
