Converge gives Macau rude PBA welcome

Sports

THE new-look Converge FiberXers banked on a strong finishing kick to turn back foreign guest team Macau Black Knights, 102-94, in the 50th PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday night, March 11, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The FiberXers wasted an early 13-point lead but avoided a major collapse by ending the match with a 14-2 attack as they kicked off their campaign in the import-flavored tournament on a high note while giving the Black Knights a rude welcome.

Converge got a huge lift from its locals with Alec Stockton firing a team-high 18 points and Archie Concepcion tossing 16 markers. Justine Baltazar recorded a double-double performance with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Justin Arana and Jonnel Policarpio chipped in 13 markers apiece.

Converge’s import Kylor Kelley did his part as he contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Mikey Williams played limited minutes in his PBA return after almost a three-year hiatus, failing to score a single point but had three assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Converge secured the win despite getting just eight points from Juan Gomez De Liano and not having Calvin Abueva, the workhorse forward that the FiberXers from the Titan Ultra Giant Risers.

THE SCORES

CONVERGE (102) - Stockton 18, Concepcion 16, Arana 15, Baltazar 14, Policarpio 13, Kelley 12, Gomez De Liano 8, Garcia 4, Clemente 2, Muyang 0, Reyson 0, Williams 0.

MACAU (94) - Leung 22, Shackelford 20, Chongqui 19, Mitchell 18, Cao 7, Lao 6, Lu 2, Chao 0, Sun 0, Li 0.QUARTERSCORES: 27-19, 49-53, 79-82, 102-94.(CCM)