PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup action on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum concluded with a showdown between two title contenders: Converge FiberXers and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. The two put on a show, until the young FiberXers led by Juan Gomez de Liaño took command in the fourth quarter to ultimately pull out a 106-96 victory. With the win, Converge joined four other teams at 5-2, while Ginebra dropped to 2-4.
What Happened?
The FiberXers were ready to run away early as they built a 48-33 lead at the 4:33 mark of the second quarter. But a 9-0 run anchored on a three-pointer and four-pointer by Jeremiah Gray helped Ginebra cut the lead to 54-49 going into intermission. The two teams battled it out in the third, with Ginebra ultimately tying it all up at 72 heading to the final 12 minutes. The crowd darlings then took a 74-72 lead to start the fourth, but the FiberXers answered with an 11-0 run to reestablish control. Converge then fended off repeated Ginebra rallies for the victory.
Who Stood Out?
No one shone brighter in this game than Juan Gomez de Liaño. The super rookie exploded for a PBA career-high 32 points on top of 6 rebounds and 6 assists in another spectacular effort. Schonny Winston was superb as well, delivering 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists off the Converge bench.
Ginebra, meanwhile, got stretches of red-hot shooting from their two guards—Stephen Holt and RJ Abarrientos. Both finished with 24 markers as they kept Ginebra competitive for much of the second half.
3 Keys to the Game
- Juan Gomez de Liaño. The rookie just flat-out dominated Ginebra, firing 19 first-half points to lead Converge to an early lead, and then finishing the job with a 10-point fourth quarter. Put simply, Ginebra had no answer for Juan Gomez de Liaño and his impressive playmaking.
- Ball movement. Converge leads the league in assists because they move that ball around, and the FiberXers did it so well on Friday night. In all, Converge finished with 25 assists and quite a few easy baskets in the paint off of great ball movement.
- Interior scoring. With Japeth Aguilar playing all out of sorts, the FiberXers had a beeline for the basket, and they took full advantage by converting on easy opportunities inside. Led by the paint play of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar and the slashing of Juan Gomez de Liaño and Schonny Winston, Converge outscored Ginebra 58-32 in the paint.
Next Up for the PBA
The PBA Philippine Cup goes on the road again, this time to the Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. International Convention in Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao. Only one game is on tap in this out-of-town gig, but it is a dandy for sure as the league-leading TNT Tropang 5G take on the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who are doing quite well themselves with a 5-2 record. Game time is at 7:30 p.m.
