By REYNALD MAGALLON
Converge continued to flaunt its strong connection as it rode another balanced attack to rout Phoenix, 128-114, in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Saturday, Oct. 25.
The deadly backcourt duo of Alec Stockton and Juan Gomez de Liano showed the way for the FiberXers but also got solid contributions from the rest of the team to complete the wire-to-wire win against the Fuel Masters.
Converge went off to a hot start, racing to an early 29-11 advantage in the opening frame and never looked back since then as Phoenix, although putting up a fight, hardly threatened the FiberXers.
Stockton fired 22 points built on five triples while Gomez de Liano finished with a double-double of 19 points and 12 assists to go with four rebounds and two steals.
Schonny Winston remained solid off the bench with 17 points as Justin Arana also had 17 along with seven rebounds and Justine Baltazar with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds laced with two blocks.
Meanwhile, Mark Barroca took charge in the final frame as Magnolia pulled away late to frustrate Terrafirma, 104-93, and get back into the win column.
The veteran guard fired 11 of his 17 points – including back-to-back layups that capped a pivotal 10-4 spurt in the last five minutes to create the much-needed separation against the gritty Dyip.
Barroca actually had a perfect shooting night with an 8-of-8 clip from the field and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line to go with his five rebounds and two assists.
His backcourt partner, Jerom Lastimosa, also continued to shine for Magnolia with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists while Zav Lucero added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang chipped in 12 apiece as Magnolia recovered from its 78-76 heartbreak at the hands of Meralco last week.
The Hotshots were only up by five, 89-84, with a little over five minutes left before Barroca spearheaded the run to erect a 99-88 lead.
Magnolia, which trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, got the share of the lead with TNT and Converge after improving to a 3-1 record while Terrafirma slid to a 1-3 slate.
