Justin Baltazar stepped up on the defensive end as Converge escaped Terrafirma, 105-103, to go 2-0 in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, July 15.
The lanky forward rose and blocked what could have been a game-tying layup from Aljon Mariano with 26 seconds left before the FiberXers dodged a huge bullet in the waning seconds to prevent the huge collapse.
The huge rejection from Baltazar also preserved a second career-best showing of 31 points and 10 rebounds from his frontcourt partner Justin Arana.
Baltazar isn’t too shabby either with 16 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks while Juan Gomez de Liano added 19.
The FiberXers led by as many as 16 points in the contest but the Dyip, just like in their 101-100 loss to NLEX last time out, rallied back in the final frame and came close to snatching the game away.
After the Mariano miss, Terrafirma just refused to go into the night silently, stealing the ball away from Converge, giving Maverick Ahanmisi the shot at the buzzer. The shot however just rattled out for the Dyip which now slid to a 1-2 slate.
Import Justin Strings exploded for 40 points and 11 rebounds, completely outplaying his Converge counterpart Jalen Hudson, who only had two points.
Juami Tiongson chipped in 17 while CJ Catapusan also provided the spark with 11 off the bench.
Meanwhile, Ken Tuffin delivered his free throws when it mattered the most while JL Delos Santos anchored the late defensive stand as Phoenix squeezed past an import-less Meralco side, 98-97.
Down by three, 94-97, in the final minute, the Fuel Masters banked on their defense and completed consecutive stops before taking care of their free throws to notch their second win in as many games in Group B.
Tuffin, who was shooting 4-of-8 from the charity stripe prior to his last trip, took care of two pressure-packed free throws to put Phoenix up for good and finish with 17 points to go with seven rebounds.
BJ Johnson led the scoring with 26 points and six rebounds while Ricci Rivero finished with 20.
CJ Cansino paced Meralco, which missed the services of import Jordon Varnado due to a hamstring injury, with 18 points while Allein Maliksi had his best game in a long while with 16.
