Closer to coveted goal

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CONVERGE prized rookie big man Justine Baltazar’s eyes widened when he saw an open lane against the Rain or Shine defense that was in slumber in the fourth quarter last night.

Boosted by big plays in the fourth quarter, the FiberXers pulled off a 130-118 victory over the Elasto Painters in Game 1 of their best-of-3 quarterfinals duel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-7 Baltazar soared from the left flank and threw a thundering one-handed slam dunk off an assist from import Cheick Diallo and over Rain or Shine veteran center Beau Belga to give Converge an insurmountable 122-118 lead with 3:50 remaining.

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Top seed NorthPort and No. 2 TNT, both armed with twice-to-beat advantage, try to make short work of Magnolia and Eastern, respectively, also in the Last Eight today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

FiberXers interim coach Franco Atienza admitted Painters reinforcement Deon Thompson fouling out with still 8:34 left in the third canto partly boosted his charges’ play.

“That’s big. Import conference, eh. Whenever you have an import tapos iyong kabila wala, malaking bagay iyon but still, we weren’t able to control the until the third quarter,” Atienza said. “I think, late in the fourth pa. If you can remember, nagpapalitan pa iyong lamang noon or lamang man kami, pero isang possession lang. So, that’s a testament to how good the other team is.

“Iyon nga lang, at least it’s a good break for us nawala si Deon who’s really a big presence inside but again, we have to do better sa Friday,” he added.

Diallo notched game-highs of 35 points and 17 rebounds, on top of three assists for Converge which bucked an early 17-point deficit while Justin Arana chipped in 22 markers and eight boards.

Jordan Heading also had 21 points while Schonny Winston, Alec Stockton, and Baltazar added 17, 13, and 13, respectively as the third-ranked FiberXers can finish off Rain or Shine and clinch a breakthrough semifinals slot in the second match this Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Converge took a 64-62 buffer at the half and only held a 99-96 cushion going into the final stanza.

But without the hardworking Thompson, the FiberXers broke the game wide-open and established their biggest edge at 127-110 on a Heading three-pointer, with only 1:42 left.

Caelan Tiongson paced the Painters with 23 points and three caroms while Anton Asistio, Adrian Nocum, and Thompson all got 14.

Keith Datu and Jhonard Clarito combined for 22 markers for Rain or Shine.

The ball now is on the Painters’ court to weather the storm or else their fellow independent team will move two more rounds of reaching the Big Dance.

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