BY: REYNALD MAGALLON
George King exploded for 46 points as San Miguel asserted its mastery of Converge, 126-114, to sweep their eliminations matchup in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, Aug. 5.
With the Beermen holding on to a slim 65-64 lead at the break, SMB came out firing with a 22-10 rally to start the third and never looked back from there to get back on the winning track and improve to a 5-2 record.
King actually joined hands with Don Trollano in the telling quarter, combining for 25 of the team’s 37 points to aid the huge win that replicated their 128-122 win over the FiberXers in the first round.
The high-scoring import added 14 points and six assists while Trollano fired 27 points. Jerrick Ahanmisi added 15 while June Mar Fajardo only had five points but still finished with a double-double of 21 rebounds and 10 assists.
SMB’s win spoiled a conference-high for Calvin Abueva who put up 26 points and 12 rebounds. He shared the team’s top scoring honors with import Jamaal Franklin, who also had 26 to go with 12 rebounds as well.
It was actually a balanced scoring for the FiberXers with Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana posting 19 and 17 apiece while Juan Gomez de Liano had 12 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Even with the good performances, however, it was not enough for Converge to arrest a four-game slide as they dropped to a 3-4 slate.
Meanwhile, Blackwater came alive in the final frame and took down Phoenix, 106-100, to snap a three-game.
The Bossing stepped up on both ends of the floor in the payoff period, finding their touch on the offense while also tightening up their defensive screws to exact their revenge against the Fuel Masters who defeated them 102-93 in their first meeting.
Blackwater, at one point in the fourth quarter, even outscored a high-octane Phoenix offense, 27-9, to stretch the lead to 105-95 after trailing by as many as 15 in the third frame.
Kentrell Barkley exploded for 34 points to go with 16 rebounds while Sedrick Barefield provided support with 26 points.
RK Ilagan also provided timely hits during that searing fourth quarter run to finish with 15 points.
Blackwater climbed back to the third spot of Group B standings with a 3-3 record while Phoenix dropped to a share for the lead with Rain or Shine after sliding to a 4-2 slate
BJ Johnson paced the Fuel Masters for 45 points but only had two points in the fourth quarter. Ricci Rivero also finished with 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds which also went down the drain.
