CONVERGE banked on some gritty defense and solid plays to come-from-behind and beat Terrafirma, 117-103, Wednesday and stoke its drive to the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
King Caralipio, Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana each notched a double-double while Alec Stockton heated up at the right time in leading the charge of the FiberXers from as much as a 43-61 deficit made possible by the Dyip's torrid shooting at the start.
Now with a 6-4 card, Converge is now assured of at least a playoff spot for the last seat in the eight-team quarterfinals following the 11-game eliminations.
Coach Franco Atienza was understandably pleased with the way his FiberXers had the poise and character to grind it out, especially on the defensive side. "I was happy... na we were able to turn it around," he said.
"iYung adage na offense wins games, defense wins championships? Hindi lang saying iyon, kasi nangyayari iyon. We cannot go with them na makikipag-shootout kami. We really had to defend. Defense was the key. Kaya for this game I give credit to the players for just believing."
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Converge was at its defensive finest during the fourth period where it limited Terrafirma to just 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and Caralipio and Schonny Winston scoring eight points apiece to lead the FiberXers' 29-point attack.
Caralipio finished with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, Baltazar 17 and 10 and Arana, coming off the bench for the first time in the tourney, 17 and 13 to complement Stockton's 17 points and Winston's 16.
Starter Bryan Santos only had four points but hauled down nine rebounds in punctuating Converge's 61-35 advantage off the boards, including 24-13 off the offensive glass.
The loss, its eighth straight against a lone win, officially took Terrafirma out of playoff contention. But not after booming in three four-pointers and eight triples in the first half that gave them control.
The Dyip even took an 84-72 lead into the last 5:42 of the third period, only to experience a drought that lasted for almost five minutes that enabled the FiberXers to come within 88-92.
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Winston then opened up the final canto with six straight points to spark a 12-3 surge and Converge had the momentum for a more telling 12-3 tear that gave it full control, 112-100.
Stanley Pringle scored a personal conference-high 23 points to lead Terrafirma, which drew 18 points from Louie Sangalang and 15 each from Keith Zaldivar and Mark Nonoy, who actually sparked the team's early breakaway with two four-pointers. (NC)
The Scores :
CONVERGE 117 - Caralipio 18, Baltazar 17, Stockton 17, Arana 17, Winston 16, Racal 9, Delos Santos 6, Corpuz 5, B.Santos 4, Garcia 4, Suerte 4.
TERRAFIRMA 103 - Pringle 23, Sangalang 18, Zaldivar 17, Nonoy 15, Catapusan 12, Ferrer 11, Ramos 7, Melecio 0, Paraiso 0, Hernandez 0.
QUARTERS: 29-39, 58-65, 88-92, 117-103
