SMELLING blood, Converge import Cheick Diallo pleaded for the ball from teammate Alec Stockton. The hulking 6-foot-8 big man got the leather just inside the paint, spun left, and towered over a smaller defender in Phoenix wingman Kenneth Tuffin.
With Diallo, Stockton, and Schonny Winston combining in the endgame, the FiberXers brought down the Fuel Masters 116-105 last night for their second straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Action shifts to the PhilSports Arena in Pasig today with red-hot foreign guest team Eastern taking on NorthPort, followed by the match pitting NLEX and Magnolia.
Diallo’s basket gave Converge an unassailable 110-99 lead with 53.9 seconds remaining and finally put away the hard-fighting Fuel Masters.
FiberXers interim coach Franco Atienza admitted Phoenix gave his charges fits but was proud of how they turned the game around.
“It’s a testament to how good they (Fuel Masters) are. Iyong standing nila does not show how really good they are because they lost two close games,” Atienza said. “They came out really prepared and caught us unaware and surprised. We were down by 15 in the first quarter and at one point, 22 points.
“So, credit to their staff. They threw something good at our way. But we give credit also to our guys. We stuck together and did not panic. We returned to on how we run our system—our defense, our offense,” he added.
Rookie playmaker Jordan Heading shared game-high honors with 21 points, to go with three rebounds and six assists for Converge while Diallo added in 21 markers and 16 boards.
Four other FiberXers hit double-figures led by Winston (16), Bryan Santos (16), Stockton (14), and BJ Andrade (11) as Converge did an encore to a 102-91 victory over NLEX last Tuesday and stoked its mark to 4-2.
Phoenix went into the duel armed with a breakthrough 115-119 decision over NorthPort also last Tuesday and slipped to 1-5.
The FiberXers trailed by as much as 2-20 early on before they whittled the deficit to 48-54 at the half.
Converge grabbed an 87-80 edge going into the payoff period and padded it to as much as 112-99 on two free throws by Stockton, only 39 ticks left.
Reinforcement Donovan Smith paced the Fuel Masters with 30 points and 18 caroms while RJ Jazul added 20 markers.
Tyler Tio, Jason Perkins, and Ricci Rivero also contributed 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively, for Phoenix.
A stern test awaits the FiberXers when they clash with the Ginebra Kings tomorrow, Saturday, in Batangas City.
