Converge simply had more weapons in its arsenal and outgunned Terrafirma, 130-115, in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Thursday, Jan. 26.
The FiberXers engaged the Dyip to a fiery shootout in the first half before putting the clamps down on the defensive end in the last two quarters to pick up their second win in as many games.
Jamaal Franklin proved Converge made the right choice of bringing him in lieu of Ethan Rusbatch, dropping 42 points – 19 of which came in the second quarter where he went on a scoring spree to answer Terrafirma import Jordan Williams’ own explosion of 22 points in that same frame alone.
The former NBA player also added 11 rebounds and eight assists while Maverick Ahanmisi backstopped him with 16 points. Justin Arana and Jeron Teng added 15 points apiece as Converge sustained the blistering offense all throughout the game scoring at least 30 points in every quarter.
After keeping in step with the FiberXers in the first half, the Dyip cooled down in the second half and struggled to execute against Converge’s suffocating pressure defense. Terrafirma scored 60 points in two quarters alone but was limited to just 21 points in the third frame, allowing Converge to seize control of the game and build an eight point lead, 100-92, heading into the final period.
It was there when the game totally broke loose with Converge suddenly establishing the largest lead of the game at 22, 130-108, late in the game behind Ahanmisi, Franklin and Taylor Browne.
Williams finished with 46 points while Juami Tiongson, after exploding for 16 in the first half, only finished with 18.