De Liano fires 32 as Converge frustrates Ginebra

Sports

THE race to the top has just gotten tighter after the Converge FiberXers defeated the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 106-96, in the 50th PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night, Nov. 14, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Converge’s win created a five-way logjam at second place as the FiberXers, San Miguel Beermen, NLEX Road Warriors, Magnolia Hotshots, and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters now sport similar 5-2 (win-loss) records.

Those five teams are just within striking distance with the TNT Tropang Giga, who are at No. 1 spot with five wins and one loss.

Ginebra, on the other hand, suffered a big blow in its bid for a higher seeding as it suffered its fourth loss with only a couple of wins to show so far.

Juan Gomez de Liano towed the FiberXers to the win by erupting for a career-high 32 points on a hot 13-of-16 shooting from the field,

De Liano also had six rebounds and six assists.

The two squads were actually tied at the end of the third period, 72-all, but the FiberXers mounted a 34-24 run in the final stanza to chalk up the win.

Schonny Winston backed De Liano with 21 points. Justin Arana piled up 13 points and 13 rebounds while Justin Baltazar tossed in 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

Stephen Holt and RJ Abarrientos led the slumping Kings with 24 points each.

THE SCORES:

CONVERGE (106) - Gomez de Liano 32, Winston 21, Arana 13, Baltazar 12, Stockton 9, Concepcion 6, Garcia 4, Muyang 3, Javillonar 2, Delos Santos 2, Racal 2, Caralipio 0, Clemente 0, Santos 0, Eguilos 0.

GINEBRA (96) - Holt 24, Abarrientos 24, Thompson 10, David 10, J. Aguilar 7, Gray 7, Cu 6, Rosario 6, Torres 2, R. Aguilar 0.QUARTERSCORES: 26-24, 54-49, 72-72, 106-96.(CCM)