Converge may be already out of contention but notching its first win tasted as sweet as making it to the playoffs of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
The FiberXers finally ended an eight-game slump at the expense of a Raymond Almazan-less Meralco, 104-99, Sunday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Bryan Santos stepped up big time in the second half, firing 16 of his team-high 22 points in the third quarter as Converge snapped a 12-game skid overall since the Commissioner’s Cup.
“We’re very excited for this win. We kept our minds out of our previous eight losses. I told them before the game to put out eight straight losses behind,” FiberXers head coach Aldin Ayo said.
Converge pulled through despite main gunner Alec Stockton fouling out midway through the fourth period.
Stockton finished with 20 points, Justin Arana ad 18 points, seven boards and seven assists while Schonny Winston and John Delos Santos had 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Santos shattered a 97-97 tie with a huge trey with under three minutes left, igniting a closing 7-2 run capped by a Delos Santos basket.
“We prepared hard against San Miguel but fell short (last game). But in this game, we only had one day to prepare, almost the same game plan and the same approach. The players are motivated, the whole team is motivated for this win,” Ayo said.
Meralco, which played sans Almazan who is serving a one-game ban following his involvement in a viral traffic violation a week ago, tumbled to back-to-back losses for a 3-5 slate tied with Phoenix.