The PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals began on Wednesday with the best-of-three brackets playing at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. After the day’s action, the Converge FiberXers and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel now find themselves a win away from the semis.
Converge Routs Rain or Shine with Strong Second Half
The Converge FiberXers bucked an early 17-point deficit to rally past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and win Game 1, 130-118.
Converge’s bigs spelled the difference in this game, dominating the paint against what seemed like an overmatched Rain or Shine frontline. That frontline got even thinner at the eight-minute mark of the third quarter, when import Deon Thompson fouled out after getting called for three straight fouls.
Diallo put up 35 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks to lead the charge for Converge. Justin Arana, back early from a knee injury he suffered in the elimination round, backstopped Diallo with 22 points and 8 rebounds in just 22 minutes of playing time. Justine Balatazar chipped in 13 markers and 6 boards and slammed home the exclamation point to the FiberXers’ game-changing 17-4 run in the fourth.
Caelan Tiongson fired a conference-high 23 points for the Elasto Painters, who managed to stay within striking distance of Converge in the third and early fourth quarter despite going importless. Anton Asistio and Adrian Nocum added 14 apiece.
Game 2 is 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
The Scores :
Converge (130) – Diallo 35, Arana 22, Heading 21, Winston 17, Stockton 13, Baltazar 13, Delos Santos 4, Santos 3, Racal 2, Ambohot 0
Rain or Shine (118) – Tiongson 23, Asistio 14, Nocum 14, Thompson 14, Datu 12, Clarito 10, Ildefonso 9, Caracut 8, Lemetti 6, Belga 5, Santillan 3
Ginebra Edges Meralco, Makes It Five in a Row over Nemesis
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel proved steadier down the stretch as they rolled to a 100-92 triumph over the Meralco Bolts.
But, for a brief stretch in the fourth, it looked like Meralco was building towards a Game 1 win as it took an 87-85 lead on the back of Chris Newsome and Aaron Black putting up big baskets. Ginebra, however, recovered just in time, ending the game on a 13-7 run to stop the Bolts’ charge.
Scottie Thompson spearheaded Ginebra, firing eight early points in the first en route to a brilliant all-around game of 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Justin Brownlee added 23 points but was just 7-for-20 from the field. Japeth Aguilar also came up big for Ginebra, putting up 19 points and 9 rebounds, while RJ Abarrientos had 14 points and 6 dimes off the bench.
Akil Mitchell, sidelined in Meralco’s final two games in the elims, returned with 19 points and 14 rebounds but struggled mightily in the second half. Newsome topscored for the Bolts with 20 points, with Jansen Rios, Chris Banchero, and Bong Quinto adding 13, 12, and 11, respectively.
Game 2 is 5:00 p.m. on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
Ginebra (100) – Thompson 23, Brownlee 23, J. Aguilar 19, Abarrientos 14, Rosario 8, Malonzo 7, Holt 6, Ahanmisi 0
Meralco 92 – Newsome 20, Mitchell 19, Rios 13, Banchero 12, Quinto 11, Almazan 8, Black 5, Hodge 4, Bates 0, Cansino 0
PBA Commissioner’s Cup: The Quarterfinals Continue
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals continues later today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with the top two seeds looking to barge into the semis. In the first game at 5:00 p.m., the NorthPort Batang Pier takes on the Magnolia Hotshots. In the second game at 7:30 p.m., the TNT Tropang Giga faces off against Hong Kong Eastern.
