Close shave
Converge slips past import-less NLEX
Cameron Clark soars to a 37-point and 12-rebound performance as Converge clips NLEX, 112-110, on Friday in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
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Converge slips past import-less NLEX
Cameron Clark soars to a 37-point and 12-rebound performance as Converge clips NLEX, 112-110, on Friday in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
Games on 7 October:
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5:15 p.m. — NLEX vs Macau
7:30 p.m. — Terrafirma vs TNT
Converge dodged the bullet in a wild ending to shut down a gritty all-Filipino NLEX side, 112-110, for back-to-back wins in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Veteran Calvin Abueva gave the FiberXers some anxious moments after holding on to Road Warriors guard Ljay Gonzales in the waning seconds of the game with his team already up by six.
Gonzales got his four-pointer in despite being fouled by Abueva for a potential five-point play or a miraculous escape by intentionally missing his foul shot and NLEX tapping a game-winner with 0.6 seconds left.
It was the latter as Gonzales gambled with the miss and hoped for a putback, but FiberXers import Cameron Clark skied for the board to secure the squad’s fifth victory in nine games before the long break.
Converge head coach Delta Pineda, however, was not satisfied with his wards’ performance against an NLEX side playing sans import DeQuan Jones because of a season-ending injury.
“Back-to-back wins, but we need more adjustments on our defense. Imagine, they didn’t have an import, but it was a close game. We have to make more adjustments in the coming break, especially on defense,” he said.
Clark, who played his second game as replacement import, finished with 17 points on 17-of-30 shooting to lead the FiberXers to a payback over their first-round tormentor.
“I’m just trying to bring the energy defensively and offensively just be aggressive and get wins at the end of the day,” said Clark, who added 12 rebounds, three blocks and an assist.
“It’s great momentum for us, after a four-game losing streak, for us to come back and win two in a row and beat the No. 1 team. We just got to keep the momentum going.”
Juan Gomez de Liaño scored 19, dished out eight assists and grabbed six rebounds while Justin Arana had 19 points and nine boards. Justine Baltazar chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds for the FiberXers, whose next match is on 11 October against Titan Ultra.
It was a nip-and-tuck affair toward the endgame.
Arana completed a three-point play for a 108-104 Converge lead in the last 38 seconds. Gonzales scored a putback off a missed four-pointer by Schonny Winston before Gomez De Liano sank all of his four charities for a 112-106 separation with 3.2 ticks left.
Gonzales had 23 points, Robert Bolick had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists while Winston finished with 17 points. JB Bahio added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Road Warriors, who will be back in action on 7 October against Macau.
NLEX is looking for a replacement with Jones done for the rest of the tournament after suffering a horrific right leg fracture with 7:27 left in the third quarter of a 118-111 overtime win over defending champion TNT last Tuesday.
He got hurt after an awkward landing compounded by Tropang 5G big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser landing on his leg in the ensuing play.
Jones sustained a broken right leg fibula, a dislocated ankle and a fractured ankle bone.
NLEX started the rematch hot after building a double-digit lead, 28-16, in the opening period.
But Converge refused to get buried early and rallied in the second period, taking a 42-35 advantage.
The tight tug-of-war continued heading into halftime. It was tied at 51 entering the intermission.
