ON this night, King Caralipio lived up to his name.
The former Letran standout played a career-best with Converge in a 117-103 come-from behind win against upset-conscious Terrafirma in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
Caralipio finished with a team-high 18 points, including eight in the final quarter when the FiberXers turned the game around and completed the team's sixth win in 10 outings.
In all, Converge outscored Terrafirma, 30-11, in the final quarter to pull off the escape act which saw the FiberXers trail by as many as 61-43 at one stretch of the game.
The sophomore wingman was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep to finish 7-of-10 from the field, while adding 10 rebounds for a double-double.
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Coach Franco Atienza was never surprised with the way Caralipio played.
"Meron talaga itong bata na ito," said Atienza, noting Caralipio was Finals MVP when Letran won the last of its three-peat in the NCAA men's basketball championship in Season 98.
"Sa ensayo maganda ang pinapakita niya and naghihintay lang talaga ako ng ganitong game. Kasi confident ako na it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Sigurado akong naghihintay ako ng ganitong game galing kay King."
According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, this marked the first time Caralipio scored in double figures for Converge this conference.
And the FiberXers are 4-0 in the season when Caralipio finished in double figures.
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Again, Atienza was just waiting for this one to happen.
"Yung sipag niya, yung dedication niya, yung IQ niya, yung skill set niya, alam kong he belongs in the league," stressed the Converge coach.
"And talagang makakatulong siya. I'm just waiting for this. It's not a question kung mangyayari ito or hindi. Hinihintay ko lang ito. I'm the least bit surprised na maganda yung nilaro ni King ngayon."
Converge won't return back to action until two weeks from now when it clashes with San Miguel on June 11 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium for its final game in the eliminations.(RG)
