Converge's Jordan Heading. PBA Images
MANILA, Philippines – Converge made it two wins in a row in the 2024–25 PBA Commissioner's Cup.
The FiberXers, despite falling down 18 points early in the match at the 20-2 mark, rallied back to beat Phoenix, 116-105, on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
"We just stuck on. We didn't panic. We returned on how we run our system, run our offense and defense. It's nice because we have six players in double digits," said coach Franco Atienza, who was pleased with how his players put effort to climb their way back.
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They were also efficient in passing and on keeping their possession, as Atienza noted. "We have 19 assists, and just 11 turnovers," he shared.
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As Atienza mentioned, there were a lot of heroes on the Converge side for the offense, led by the duo of Jordan Heading and Cheick Diallo who delivered 21 points each, followed by Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos who chipped in 16 each, while Alec Stockton and Bryan Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Meanwhile, Donovan Smith's efforts on the offensive end of Phoenix — a game-high 30-point outing — was put to waste after the loss.
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Converge still has two battles this year against Ginebra and Meralco, while the Super LPG has ended the year 2024 on a bitter note.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 – Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0
PHOENIX 105 – Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0
QUARTERS: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105