San Miguel survives Converge

Juami Tiongson came out smoking in the fourth quarter and saved the day for defending champion San Miguel Beer in a hard-fought 96-90 win over young and dangerous Converge in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup Sunday at the Ynares Center-Antipolo. 

The streaky scorer punched all of his 14 points in the payoff period after a cold first three quarters that allowed the Beermen to build a cushion and stave off the FiberXers for their third straight win in five starts.

“I’m so happy for Juami tonight. For the first time out of so many games, he exploded. Stringing up consecutive points. That’s what I expect from him,” San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said of his prized guard.

Tiongson shot 4-of-8 from the field and converted two triples in almost 20 minutes of action.

Reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo finished with a double-double of 24 points and 16 rebounds while CJ Perez added 13 points for the Beermen, who survived Converge’s running game and late fourth quarter scare.

“We know that they like to play in a fast-paced game. So, we had to slow it down and make sure they don’t run the floor,” Tiongson said.

The Beermen went up 91-80 with 4:53 left. The FiberXers ignited a 10-4 run to close in within five.

Converge had a chance to trim its deficit further but Alec Stockton missed a triple and Schonny Winston also sent his triple off an offensive rebound off target. Perez split his charities with 22.1 seconds left for a 96-90 San Miguel lead and Winston airballed his four-point attempt.

The FiberXers saw their two-game win streak come to an end as they slipped to a 3-2 slate.

Winston had 20 points and seven rebounds, Justin Arana scored 19 and grabbed 10 boards, while Justin Baltazar had 14 points, 19 rebounds, five steals and two assists for Converge, which outscored San Miguel off the fastbreak, 27-6.

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL (96) — Fajardo 24, Tiongson 14, Perez 13, Tautuaa 9, Teng 7, Rosales 7, Cruz 6, Rosales 6, Brondial 6, Calma 5, Lassiter 4, Miller 2, Ross 0.

CONVERGE (90) — Winston 20, Arana 19, Baltazar 14, Concepcion 9, Gomez de Liano 8, Muyang 6, Stockton 6, Muyang 6, Garcia 4, Javillonar 4, Delos Santos 0, Santos 0, Clemente 0, Eguilos 0, Racal 0

Quarters: 20-28, 47-49, 69-66, 96-90.