Stockton denies San Miguel series sweep, Ginebra punches semis ticket

Alec Stockton's game-winning shot kept Converge alive in the best-of-five quarterfinal series after a 114-112 win over San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Monday evening.

Stockton delivered a buzzer-beating shot over the defense of CJ Perez as the FiberXers notched their first postseason win since joining the league in 2022.

This was Stockton bouncing back for Converge after almost getting thrown out of the game after hitting Kris Rosales in the face as the first quarter wound down.

The referees initially slapped Stockton with a flagrant foul 2 which could have forced him to be ejected.

However, the sanction was downgraded to a flagrant foul 1, forcing him to sit out for only three minutes.

"I thought it was the end for me," said Stockton, who scored 20 points for Converge.

"We were up by three and I almost cost us the game. I'm just glad I was able to hit that shot and it got us another chance on Friday."

Game 4 of this series will be on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the same venue.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel clinched the first semifinals slot after a 113-106 Game 3 win over the Meralco Bolts.

Resident import Justin Brownlee scored 23 points as the Kings now await the winner between Converge and San Miguel for their best-of-seven semifinal series.

"It's a long time coming for us to get back and have a chance to make up for that for our fans," Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said.