Arana helps Converge slay Magnolia

Justin Arana scored on a layup with 5.8 seconds left to hand Converge a 93-91 win over Magnolia in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center on Sunday in Antipolo City.

Arana made the crucial basket off an Alec Stockton assist.

Before that shot, Stockton tied the game at 91 with 43.7 seconds remaining.

Jerrick Ahanmisi had one last attempt to steal the game for the Hotshots but his triple bounced off the rim as time expired.

This is the second win for Converge in three games.

Arana finished with 24 points and seven rebounds while Stockton had a double-double game of 18 points and 10 assists for Converge.

FiberXers head coach Franco Atienza said climbing out of a 20-point deficit wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for their faith in their system.

“We were lucky to escape this but we were able to leverage our system. Individually, there was no way we could have gotten that grind-out win,” Atienza said.

“It’s a good win for a young franchise like us.”

Ricardo Ratliffe led Magnolia with 25 points and 19 rebounds.