When the San Miguel Beermen and Converge FiberXers meet, it’s almost always a close, explosive outing. That was again the case on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, when the two stacked teams met in an early-conference showdown. In the end, after a terrific back-and-forth in the fourth quarter, the Beermen did just enough to edge out the FiberXers, 103-99, to level their PBA Commissioner’s Cup record to 1-1. Converge, on the other hand, dropped to 1-3.
What Happened?
Converge struck first, winning the opening frame, 25-20, thanks to early contributions from Mike Garcia and Justine Baltazar. It was much of the same in the second canto, with Garcia ending it with a personal 7-0 run to stake the FiberXers to a 50-42 halftime lead.
San Miguel, though, erased that deficit in the third, outscoring Converge, 31-21, thanks in part to a 7-2 windup on a Cjay Perez four-pointer and a Mo Tautuaa triple. The fourth canto turned out to be an explosive nip-and-tuck affair, with Marcio Lassiter coming alive with 11 points on three triples and Mikey Williams countering with three treys of his own. Four-pointers by Alec Stockton and Archie Concepcion allowed Converge to tie things up at 99 with 39 ticks left, only for the former to foul Don Trollano, who made the go-ahead freebies.
Who Stood Out?
Plenty of heroes on both sides in this one. For San Miguel, June Mar Fajardo was sensational from the get-go, finishing with 27 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in another monster performance. Perez was superb as well, tallying 24 markers to go along with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Lassiter’s fourth-quarter explosion proved timely as well.
Baltazar shone bright for Converge, dialing in 19 markers and corralling 5 boards even while matching up with Fajardo. Stockton played well, too, save for some questionable decision-making in the end. Williams, meanwhile, finally found some semblance of a rhythm in the fourth, firing three triples to counter Lassiter.
3 Keys to the Game
- Paint play. With Fajardo leading the way, the Beermen got to the paint time and again, challenging the FiberXers’ bigs and finding success more often than not. The result was a 72-44 advantage for San Miguel in points in the paint to offset its 27.8% shooting from deep.
- Championship poise. Converge seemed in control for much of the first half, but San Miguel turned it up in the third quarter to take the lead, and then displayed that trademark championship poise to fend off the FiberXers in the endgame.
- June Mar Fajardo doing MVP things. With import Marcus Lee again a non-factor, it was The Kraken who played like a reinforcement, bullying his way inside and even making plays in transition. Everything started with JMF, and he delivered when it mattered.
Next Up for the PBA
Friday, March 27, 2026 | Smart Araneta Coliseum
Meralco Bolts vs. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5:00 p.m.)
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs. NLEX Road Warriors (7:30 p.m.)
