Hot Hopson four the win

Scotty Hopson nailed the game-winning four-point shot with defense all over his face in the last 3.6 seconds to rescue Converge from the jaws of defeat over TNT Tropang Giga, 96-95, in Group A of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Playing catchup for most of the game, the FiberXers showed resilience by sticking around before seizing the moment when the opportunity presented itself to capture their second win in three outings tied with their erstwhile unbeaten victim on top of the standings.

Down by three after Tropang Giga import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made his pair of charities, the FiberXers reinforcement went for the kill. Hounded by Glenn Khobuntin after receiving the ball off a timeout, Hopson drove hard to the right elbow of the arc before pulling up for the go-ahead quadruple over the outstretched arms of Khobuntin.

Hopson then sealed the win with a defensive gem after blocking Hollis-Jefferson from behind in the last play of the thrilling match.

“Probably this is the proof of the four-point line. Without the four-point line, we’re going to overtime. And I don’t know our chances in overtime. So it’s good that we have someone who can shoot that long-range shot. And it’s available for us,” a relieved Converge coach Franco Atienza said after his squad rebounded from a previous loss.

Hopson finished with 32 points off 10-of-23 shooting including 2-of-3 from the four-point area. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for the FiberXers, who got 14 markers from Schonny Winston and 13 points from Justin Arana.

Kevin Racal had 12 points while Alex Cabagnot added 10 for Converge.

The FiberXers patiently chipped away their deficit in the fourth quarter and even unleashed an 11-2 run to tie the game at 75 with 7:14 left off a Hopson basket.

Arana gave Converge its first taste of the lead, 84-83, with 2:54 left.

TNT was on target in the first half with Hollis-Jefferson heating up early from the field, scoring 14 in the opening period where the Tropang Giga built a double-digit separation.

Calvin Oftana joined the scoring spree with 12 markers at the break.

RR Pogoy saw action after missing TNT’s first two games due to a sore back and nailed his first field goal of the season with a long bomb in the last 1:42 of the second quarter.

Kim Aurin turned it into a 53-40 lead for the Tropang Giga and could’ve ballooned to 16 but Hollis-Jefferson’s trey at the buzzer to end the first half was nullified after a review.

Hollis-Jefferson score 32 points and had 15 boards while Oftana added 22 markers for TNT.