Alec Stockton was among the heroes for the Converge FiberXers in their 102–94 come-from-behind win over the Macau Black Knights on Wednesday. The former FEU Tamaraw fired a team-high 18 points to go along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 steals.
Not only that. Stockton also gave the FiberXers an energy boost when they needed it most—and in the most Alec Stockton way, of course.
With Converge down, 74–68, at the tail end of the third quarter after Macau’s Damian Chong Qui scored his 17th point, Stockton took matters into his own hands. Known as a pesky defender and an instigator in the PBA, the 6-foot-1 Fil-Am took on the challenge of defending Chong Qui, bodying him up, putting on pressure, and talking a little trash. Clearly challenged, the Black Knights’ leading local scorer tried taking it to Stockton—but to no avail.
Part of Hoops, Says Alec Stockton
Pretty soon, Alec Stockton and Damian Chong Qui were in each other’s faces and were jawing, though cooler heads quickly kept things from escalating. But, by then, it was clear Stockton had gained the upper hand as Chong Qui turned the ball over several times after that dustup and could only muster 2 more points the rest of the way.
Afterward, Stockton dismissed the dustup as just basketball, with two competitors just giving their best and leaving it all on the court.
“It’s great. That’s what basketball is. You give your best, things get heated sometimes, but that’s the best of it. I know you guys love to watch those types of moments, and kami, we just try to bring our best out there,” Stockton told reporters after the game when asked about his dustup with Chong Qui.
Even so, the fourth-year guard acknowledged it was by design, too.
“For me, I just wanted to give more energy sa teammates ko,” Stockton admitted. “Our energy was kind of down, we were trying to catch up from their run, [and] I’m glad it worked well for us. The energy kinda spread out throughout the team, and it brought us the W.”
Indeed, the tenor of that game changed after Alec Stockton and Damian Chong Qui started jawing at each other. And it was Converge that got the advantage afterward, outscoring the Black Knights, 34–16 from that point forward.
As for Stockton? He won his matchup, too, forcing Chong Qui into three turnovers and shackling him to 2 points in the fourth.
