PBA: SMB survives late Converge blast to keep 8th spot

Juami Tiongson's solid shooting was just enough for the Beermen to survive. PBA Images
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—San Miguel held on despite Converge's gallant fight for a 116-113 win in a pivotal PBA Commissioner's Cup game on Friday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The Beermen nearly blew an 18-point early fourth-quarter lead as a flagrant foul on June Mar Fajardo nearly cost them the game.

In a rare moment for someone scoring from the inside, Fajardo was slapped with a landing spot foul just as Cheick Diallo converted a jump hook with 8:30 to go and SMB up, 104-86.

While Malik Pope scored back-to-back baskets to keep his team afloat after Diallo completed the and-one, Converge went on a 22-6 run that cut the lead down to one, 114-113, with 1:36 left.

The Beermen could not close out the game properly as they only went 2-for-8 from the foul line at the death, but their defense held forth down the stretch as the FiberXers went scoreless the rest of the way.

Pope and Juami Tiongson each scored 22 points with Pope also grabbing 14 rebounds for SMB, which regained solo eighth place at 5-6.

Tiongson went 6-for-10 on threes for the majority of his points.

Fajardo, despite the flagrant foul and the late free-throw mishap, still contributed 19 points, 14 rebounds, one block, and one steal.

Diallo led Converge, which dropped to 8-4 to end its elimination round campaign, with 28 points on 9-of-15 field goals, 11 rebounds, two assists, and one block.

Jordan Heading added 25 points, going 2-for-2 on four-pointers, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Alec Stockton contributed 19 points, four rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and two blocks, while Balti Baltazar, who had to play extended minutes due to Justin Arana's knee injury, put up 13 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

The team can now only hope for the remaining outcomes to go their way to clinch a Top 2 spot, which means a one-win incentive in the quarterfinals.

The Scores:

SAN MIGUEL 116 – Pope 22, Tiongson 22, Fajardo 19, Trollano 17, Perez 11, Lassiter 10, Cruz 6, Tautuaa 6, Cahilig 3, Ross 0

CONVERGE 113 – Diallo 28, Heading 25, Stockton 19, Baltazar 13, Racal 8, Andrade 6, Winston 5, Delos Santos 4, Santos 3, Javillonar 2, Cabagnot 0, Ambohot 0

QUARTERS: 29-16, 65-48, 99-81, 116-113

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