PBA: George King, big 3rd propel San Miguel Beer past Converge

San Miguel import George King soars for a basket against Converge in the PBA Governors’ Cup.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Beer used a blistering third quarter to down Converge, 126-114, in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Wednesday night at Araneta Coliseum.

Playing without CJ Perez, the Beermen banked on import George King to keep a firm grip on Group A’s second seed with a 5-2 record behind unbeaten NLEX (6-0).

“These guys are really aggressive defensively so I had to make sure I’m strong and solid with the ball,” said King, who finished with 46 points and 14 rebounds.

“We practice really hard. We’re always in the gym together, and day by day, we build our chemistry and togetherness. I’m very fortunate to be playing on this team.”

For most of the first half, it was a neck-and-neck game between the FiberXers and the Beermen, who held a narrow 65-64 lead at the intermission before pulling away in the pivotal third period.

The Beermen were all business in the second half, going on a 17-4 run to open the third quarter capped off by a Don Trollano for an 82-68 advantage, which ballooned to as high as 21 in the final frame.

The FiberXers never recovered.

Trollano caught fire for the Beermen with 27 points while Jerrick Ahanmisi added 15.

Converge had four players recording a double-double. Calvin Abueva and Jamaal Franklin each had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Justin Arana notched 17 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Juan Gomez collected 12 and 10 with eight assists.

Justine Baltazar also had a solid game with 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals.