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Converge's Justine Baltazar (19) puts up a shot over the defense of Phoenix's Kai Ballungay (10) during their PBA Philippine Cup matchup Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
(PBA Images)
MANILA, Philippines -- The Converge FiberXers grabbed their first win in the PBA Philippine Cup after keeping the Phoenix Fuel Masters at bay, 92-83, Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Converge, which suffered a heartbreaking buzzer-beater loss against the Meralco Bolts in their conference debut, led by 23 in the fourth quarter but did just enough to quell runs by the Fuel Masters.
Alec Stockton carried the load for the FiberXers with 18 points, six rebounds, two blocks and an assist, while Schonny Winston had 14 markers, eight boards and two steals.
The game was tight in the third quarter, with Phoenix trailing by just three, 50-53, after a jumper by Tyler Tio.
But a 14-5 run by the FiberXers pushed their lead to a dozen, 67-55, after a split from the line by Bryan Santos.
Converge broke the game wide open, with their advantage ballooning to as much as 23 points, 84-61, after a triple by King Caralipio.
The Fuel Masters tried to slowly nip the lead away, but missed free throws down the stretch hurt their cause.
The nearest they got to was nine points, which was the final score, after a deuce by RR Garcia with about 13 seconds to go.
Bryan Santos and Justin Arana had 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for Converge. Justine Baltazar stuffed the statsheet with nine points, 16 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.
Kai Ballungay once again spearheaded Phoenix with 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks on 5-of-12 shooting. Tyler Tio added 13 points.
Phoenix dropped to 0-2 in the season, while Converge rose to 1-1.
The FiberXers will try to make it two in a row against the Magnolia Hotshots on Wednesday, while the Fuel Masters are aiming to finally tally a win against defending champions Meralco Bolts on Sunday.
