QF heartbreak silences FiberXers

Converge came a stop away from reaching its first-ever semifinals appearance, but fate remained cruel to the FiberXers.

A stunned Converge side was lost for words in the sudden turn of events after Barangay Ginebra guard Stephen Holt drained the game-winning triple at the buzzer in overtime and sent the young team packing once again early in the playoff.

The scoreboard flashed the Kings’ hard-earned 99-98 win in the do-or-die Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup for a ticket to face defending champion San Miguel Beer in the best-of-seven semis.

It also meant that Converge, which entered the playoffs armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, will go back to the drawing board and just look ahead to the next conference for redemption.

The FiberXers locker room went silent amid the loud noise of mostly Ginebra fans that filled the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night.

Converge coach Delta Pineda could only comfort his dejected players with positive takeaways to lift their spirits before they take their unwanted break.

“We fought a champion team, a great team, a more experienced team,” Pineda said.

“Aren’t you proud of our showing? We did our best, but I guess it’s just not for us.” 

The mentor, however, admitted that the loss dealt his squad a severe heartache, much more painful than the previous three straight quarters exit, including last season’s all-Filipino conference playoffs loss to the same rivals.  

“Everyone’s quiet. But I told them to keep their heads up,” Pineda said after his first tournament as tactician.

“We gave them a different kind of fight. It just so happened that we collapsed on that winning shot.”

The FiberXers had a chance to win it in regulation after taking an 86-83 lead with nine ticks left.

Alec Stockton, however, got too aggressive on defense and clipped the hands of Jeremiah Gray in his desperation three-point heave, which almost went in. He sank all three charities to knot the count.

Rookie Juan Gomez de Liaño tried to win it but his four-point attempt bounced off the back of the rim as time expired.

Converge held a six-point lead with under two minutes left in the extension and was up 98-96 from Justine Baltazar’s split from the line in the last eight seconds.      

Holt then drilled the cold-blooded dagger after faking off MJ Garcia for a clean look.

“Yeah, I mean, heartbreaker,” said Gomez De Liano, whose 25-point explosion came to naught in the end.

“It’s a good experience. Take it as a lesson learned and on to the next conference,” he added.