The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup continued on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with the top two teams in the standings—NLEX Road Warriors and San Miguel Beermen—facing off against the NorthPort Batang Pier and Converge FiberXers, respectively. Here’s what happened:
NorthPort Stuns NLEX Behind Cade Flores, Calvin Abueva
The NorthPort Batang Pier played spoiler on Wednesday night, beating the NLEX Road Warriors, 113-108, and keeping the latter from clinching the top seed.
Cade Flores led the way with 26 points and 15 boards to help the Batang Pier notch only their second win in ten games. Fran Yu and Calvin Abueva provided plenty of support to Flores, firing 21 and 19, respectively, for NorthPort, whose 40-22 third quarter helped turn a 46-54 halftime deficit to an 86-76 lead going to the fourth.
Robbie Herndon’s 21 paced the Road Warriors, who only suited up nine players. Brandon Ramirez and Robert Bolick scattered 16 apiece, Jonel Policarpio and Kevin Alas had 12 each, while JB Bahio and Xyrus Torres each scored 11.
With the loss, NLEX will finish the elimination round with an 8-3 record and might miss out on the top spot depending on the results of the succeeding games. The Road Warriors, though, are assured of a top four slot.
The scores:
NorthPort (113) – Flores 26, Yu 21, Abueva 19, Munzon 8, Balanza 7, Nelle 7, Onwubere 6, Bulanadi 6, Nava 5, Jalalon 3, Taha 3, Cuntapay 2, Kwekuteye 0
NLEX (108) – Herndon 21, Ramirez 16, Bolick 16, Policarpio 12, Alas 12, Bahio 11, Torres 11, Valdez 9, Amer 0
Up Next:
NorthPort vs. San Miguel on June 15 (Ynares Center – Antipolo)
Converge Shocks San Miguel as Schonny Winston Takes Over
The Converge FiberXers will be entering the playoffs on the heels of two big wins after they stunned the San Miguel Beermen on Wednesday, 100-97, to finish the eliminations with a 7-4 record.
Schonny Winston not only led all scorers with 25 points, but he also fired key baskets down the stretch to help Converge hold off the hard-charging Beermen, who took an eight-point lead in the fourth after being down by 18 early in the third. But Winston wasn’t going to be denied this game, bringing Converge back with timely hits. Justin Arana backstopped Winston with 21 points while also holding his own against eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo.
Fajardo was superb as well in this game, going off for 17 points, 22 rebounds, and 7 assists. CJay Perez added 17 but was just 7-for-23 from the field. Mo Tautuaa chipped in 14 including two triples in the second half.
With the loss, San Miguel dropped to 7-3 in a tie with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. Converge will finish at 7-4 while also avoiding a possible quarters clash with the Beermen.
The scores:
Converge (100) – Winston 25, Arana 21, Delos Santos 13, Stockton 7, Baltazar 7, R. Santos 6, B.Santos 6, Garcia 5, Racal 3, Caralipio 2, Corpuz 0
San Miguel (97) – Fajardo 17, Perez 17, Tautuaa 14, Tiongson 13, Rosales 11, Cruz 8, Teng 4, Trollano 4, Lassiter 3, Cahilig 3, Brondial 3, Ross 0
Up Next:
San Miguel vs. NorthPort on June 15 (Ynares Center – Antipolo)
2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup Continues
The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup will continue on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with a no-bearing game and a huge one. In the first game, also-rans Phoenix Fuel Masters and Blackwater Bossing will try to end their conference on a winning note and salvage some pride. In the second game, the Magnolia Hotshots and TNT Tropang 5G face off with top four hopes on the line.
