ANTIPOLO – Like he did last conference when Converge’s import struggled, Alec Stockton gamely assumed the take-charge role for the FiberXers.
With Cheick Diallo checked, Stockton made the big plays in the endgame as the FiberXers wiped out a 20-point deficit and grabbed a 93-91 steal over Magnolia in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at Ynares Center.
Stockton had an all-around statline of 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and capped his heroics with the tying three-pointer, a clutch defensive board that he followed with a well-timed feed to an open Justin Arana for the go-ahead basket.
The gutsy come-from-behind win enabled the FiberXers to get back on track after dropping a 106-117 loss to guest team Hong Kong Eastern and improve to 2-1. The Hotshots fell to 1-1 after letting this one slip away.
“It's a good win for a young franchise, a young team like us,” said Converge coach Franco Atienza, whose crew started its rally from 45-65 with a 22-10 windup in the third and followed it up with a 26-16 exchange in the final canto to ultimately bring the W home.
“A grind-out win like this is what makes ballers, what makes players. Toe to toe, chess match, running the system on both ends of the floor, believing in the system even if you're facing a 20-point deficit with 18 minutes left. Seems impossible but the only thing that brought us there is the belief of the players. They just didn't give and of course it's a Divine intervention and so all glory and praise to God.”
Stepping into the closer’s shoes is nothing new to Stockton. In Game 3 of the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals against San Miguel, he hit the buzzer-beating jumper that won it for Converge, 114-112, after trailing by 27 and extended the series.
He did it again on the night Cheick Diallo was held to 10 markers — 33 less than his previous output the previous game.
“Just like any other game, we want to give everything we have,” said Stockton. “I couldn’t have done it by myself. It was a collective effort for us and I think it just came down to my hands on those last second shots and I just work on those.”
Justin Arana held the fort for most parts and posted a team-high 24, 13 of them in the fourth, to go with seven boards while Racal shot 10.
Even though his scoring was missed, Diallo knocked down a crucial three-point play that got them to within 88-91 in the last 1:16 and hauled down 16 rebounds.
Ricardo Ratliffe produced 25-19 for the Hotshots, who drew double-digit outputs from Jerom Lastimosa (14), Ian Sangalang (12), Jerick Ahanmisi (12), Paul Lee (10) and Zav Lucero (10) in the absence of Calvin Abueva (neck injury from last game).
Later, Meralco joined Eastern and NorthPort at the summit at 2-0 after turning back debuting Rain or Shine, 121-111, in a charged all-Filipino duel.
The Bolts lost import Akil Mitchell merely 12 seconds after tipoff as he broke his nose on an inadvertent hit by Keith Datu’s arm. The Elasto Painters were without Deon Thompson, who hasn’t secured his “special work permit” yet.
The scores:
Converge 93 – Arana 24, Stockton 18, Racal 10, 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 2, Dela Rosa 0, Dionisio 0.
Quarterscores: 22-26, 38-53, 67-75, 93-91.
Second Game
Meralco 121 – Newsome 25, Quinto 20, Rios 16, Torres 13, Almazan 12, Hodge 11, Caram 10, Black 9, Pascual 2, Jose 2, Pasaol 1, Mitchell 0.
Rain or Shine 111 – Datu 17, Nocum 15, Santillan 14, Clarito 13, Tiongson 12, Caracut 11, Lemetti 9, Belga 6, Norwood 5, Malonzo 5, Ildefonso 2, Demusis 2.
Quarterscores: 33-25, 52-49, 89-81, 121-111.