The Converge FiberXers notched a statement win on Sunday, walloping the Titan Ultra Giant Risers, 152-119, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to get their PBA Governors’ Cup restart off to a rousing start. The win improved the FiberXers’ slate to 6-4 to keep pace with the TNT Tropang 5G and move a game closer to the San Miguel Beermen. The loss dropped the Giant Risers to 2-8 and into a tie with the Macau Giant Pandas for worst record.
What Happened?
Converge wasted no time seizing control of this game, going off for a 38-27 opening frame behind 15 points from Cameron Clark and two treys from Juan Gomez De Liaño. The FiberXers stayed hot in the second canto with JGDL’s 9 points spearheading a 33-point effort. Titan Ultra, though, scored 33 of their own to trail by only 11, 71-60, going into halftime.
The FiberXers then looked on their way to putting the game away when they pushed their lead to 20 a couple of times in the third, the last being at 90-70 at the 5:28 mark. But the Giant Risers ended the third outscoring Converge, 20-9, to stay within 99-90 entering the final period. That’s when Gomez De Liaño and company left no doubt, going on an 11-0 spurt early to push the lead to 116-97 before piling it on with one mini-spurt after another. At the end, Converge plastered 53 fourth-quarter points on Titan Ultra to record the blowout win.
Who Stood Out?
Gomez De Liaño is the easy choice, controlling the game for Converge throughout on his way to 32 points on 12-for-14 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, 13 assists, and 2 steals. Clark, meanwhile, had that torrid start and finished with 30 markers. ustine Baltazar showed out, too, with a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Calvin Abueva continued to be a spark off the bench with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals.
For Titan Ultra, Tirrell Brown Jr. did a lot of the heavy lifting as he put up 31 points and 9 rebounds. Joshua Munzon, who inked a fresh contract with the Giant Risers, played well himself, finishing with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
3 Keys to the Game
- Juan Gomez De Liaño. Titan Ultra simply had no answer for JGDL, who scored whenever and wherever while also setting up his teammates all game long. At times, he seemed to be toying with the Giant Risers’ defense as he seemingly did whatever he pleased.
- Interior scoring. The FiberXers kept attacking the lane on Sunday, from Gomez De Liaño breaking down the defense to Justin Arana bullying his way inside to the ball finding the open man in the paint. The result was a massive 76-48 advantage for Converge in points in the paint.
- Points off turnovers. The turnover battle was actually close, with Converge coughing it up 12 times to Titan Ultra’s 14. However, the FiberXers took advantage of seemingly every Giant Riser turnover, converting those miscues to 29 big points. In contrast, Titan Ultra scored just 13 off Converge’s errors.
Next Up for the PBA
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 | Ninoy Aquino Stadium
TNT Tropang 5G vs. Macau Giant Pandas (5:15 p.m.)
Meralco Bolts vs. Blackwater Bossing (7:30 p.m.)
