CHICAGO - After Rondae Hollis-Jefferson swished a pair of free throws to push TNT ahead, 95-92, with 9.6 seconds left to play, it looked like going into overtime was the worst thing that could happen to the Tropang Giga.
But wait, the PBA just installed a four-point shot and that innovation turned into a Tuesday night disaster for the telecommunication giant at the Araneta Coliseum.
With a second defeat in three games staring them in the face, Converge called for a timeout and designed a play to free their import.
READ Hopson hits PBA's first 4-point game winner as Converge stuns TNT
"Made an audible and just said 'get Scotty (Hopson) the ball'," coach Charles Tiu told SPIN.ph.
Hopson did the rest. After receiving the ball off the inbound, he dribbled from the top left side of the court to the right before hoisting a 4-pointer in front of TNT's Glen Khobuntin.
Boom!
Converge 96, TNT 95.
T'was the shot heard around the league. It was also avoidable.
TNT could have fouled immediately and sent Hopson to the free-throw line. Such strategy would have required four things to fall perfectly into place for Converge under immense time pressure.
Make the first free throw. Intentionally miss the second. Grab the offensive rebound. And then convert on a 2.
"I prayed they wouldn't foul," said Tiu, who was well aware that prior to his game-winner, Hopson had shot 4-of-6, a crazy 66.6 percent, from 27 feet and beyond.
The TV broadcast panel did say the Tropang Giga had intended to foul, but I didn't see one. After Hopson got the inbounds pass, he stood out there with his back behind the basket for a full second. Khobuntin could have hugged him.
But that last play was merely TNT's cause of death. There were several complications that led to this stunning demise.
THE DAM BROKE.
After surrendering just 64 points through three quarters, the Tropang Giga allowed Converge to score 32 in the fourth.
The Tropang Giga also shot themselves in the foot, connecting on just 34 of 88 field goals (38.6 percent) And they coughed up 13 turnovers against only 15 assists.
Their bench got outscored 29-21, they lost the second-chance points battle, 16-9, and they were murdered in the paint, 48-32.
TNT didn't give away this game. Converge took it.
The FiberXers hung tough after TNT, on the strength of a combined 54 points from RHJ and Calvin Oftana, built a 56-40 lead.
Hopson finished with 32 points, bumping his Governors' Cup average to 34.6. Schonny Winston and Justine Arana combined for 27 points.
And just like that, a team that won only 3 games in the past two conferences scored their second win in six days.
Thanks to a sizzling four-play, winning is no longer a fling for the FiberXers.
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