PBA: Converge survives amid Jalen Hudson struggles as Terrafirma falls short anew

Balti Baltazar stepped up for Converge amid Jalen Hudson's struggles. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—Converge held on despite Terrafirma's valiant efforts in the end for a 105-103 win in their PBA Governors' Cup game on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Despite Jalen Hudson struggling to contain Justin Strings on both ends of the floor, the FiberXer locals stepped up as they opened a 105-96 lead with 3:24 remaining.

However, the Dyip went on a 7-0 run afterward that put them in a good position to either force overtime or even steal the win.

In the final play, Terrafirma, off a Juami Tiongson steal, opted for the game-winner, with Maverick Ahanmisi having some space for a four-point shot.

However, Ahanmisi's buzzer-beater only hit the back iron to the relief of Converge as Terrafirma's comeback bid fell short for the second straight time.

Justin Arana led the FiberXers, now 2-0 in the standings, with 31 points on 14 of 19 shooting, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.

Juan Gomez De Liaño added 19 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Balti Baltazar put up 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including a perfect 2 of 2 on threes, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals in their first start of the conference.

Strings finished with 40 points on 19 of 34 field goals, 11 rebounds, five assists, and one block for the Dyip.

However, while he successfully held Hudson to just two points on 1-for-14 shooting, Strings could not carry his team in the end as they fell to 1-2, which some may say would have been 3-0 if they had completed their late rallies.

The Scores:

CONVERGE 105 – Arana 31, Gomez de Liano 19, Baltazar 16, Concepcion 13, Garcia 12, Williams 9, Abueva 3, Hudson 2, Stockton 0, Tungcab 0, Policarpio 0, Muyang 0

TERRAFIRMA 103 – Strings 40, Tiongson 17, Catapusan 11, Chiu 9, Paraiso 7, Ahanmisi 6, Mariano 6, Bravo 5, Hanapi 2, Umali 0, Miller 0, Eriobu 0, Zaldivar 0

QUARTERS:  35-36, 59-51, 82-71, 105-103