CHICAGO— En fuego.
That was how Converge started Game One of their PBA 50th Season Governors' Cup quarterfinals series versus Rain or Shine on Tuesday.
Up 41-25 after the opening quarter which led to a 48-27 surge at the 9:41 mark before halftime.
And then the FiberXers turned cold in the third quarter and watched helplessly as the Elasto Painters went on a torrid 42-28 run to steal the best-of-five series opener, 124-120.
READ Guiao liking his rookie Deo Cuajao's fearless approach to game
No need to bring in crash investigators to figure out what happened. Converge simply couldn’t make shots in the second half.
All told, they were 45-of-102 from the field overall (44.1 percent), 12-of-35 from three (34.2 percent) and 1-of-7 from four (14.2 percent).
COLD RIFLES.
Except for import Cam Clark and Justin Arana, who combined for 49 points, the FiberXers struggled.
Alec Stockton was held to 3-for-12. Juan Gomez de Liano missed 10 of 15 shots while Mikey Williams went 1-for-12.
The Elasto Painters deserve credit for their smash mouth, take-no-prisoners defense as well as their resilience to stay with the fight after falling behind by 21.
With studs such as Balti, JGdL, Stockton, Mikey, Calvin Abueva and Arana, the FiberXers have more talent across the board than RoS.
But the Elasto Painters are mentally tough and plays with a chip on their shoulders.
Rain or Shine is a poor man’s iteration of Ginebra’s Never Say Die mantra.
TOUGH AS NAILS.
That warrior spirit was best epitomized by Adrian Nocum, a 6-foot, 160-pound guard who rose above his more prominent foes.
“We've always been a team that try to recruit based on high character. A concrete manifestation of this is when players show grit and toughness under intense adversity.
“ Adrian and the rest of the guys proved us right in making them a part of our team. Toughness is one the pillars of the things we value in our group,” RoS coach Yeng Guiao told me via text message.
Despite being hounded by eight turnovers, Nocum kept charging for 26 points while hitting 4-of-4 from 3. He also had 5 rebounds and 9 assists.
Nocum had plenty of help, too.
Import Aaron Fuller had 14 rebounds and 33 points on an efficient 12-of-19 shooting.
Caelan Tiongson added 17 while fearless rookie Deo Cuajao chipped in 15. Andrei Caracut and Jhonard Clarito pooled together 15.
There’s a lot of basketball left in a series that figures to last the distance.
Let’ see how the FiberXers can match Rain or Shine’s spunk moving forward.
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