San Miguel overcame a furious fightback from Converge and eked out an important 116-113 victory to boost its playoff hopes in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, Jan. 24.

Badly needing a win to keep their spot in the Top 8, the Beermen seemingly showed a sense of urgency when they established a big margin but still almost collapsed and barely survived the FiberXers in the highly physical and emotional encounter.

Juami Tiongson kept SMB’s head above the water with timely plays down the stretch including a crucial steal that led to a CJ Perez free throw and gave the Beermen a three-point cushion and eventually the win that hiked their record to 5-6.

The Beermen solidified their hold of the eighth spot although the Magnolia Hotshots and the NLEX Road Warriors, both with 4-6 slates, are keeping chase.

Even with the lead though, SMB still had to face some anxious moments late, dodging two huge bullets after Alec Stockton, and on the final play, Brian Santos failed to nail what was supposed to be an overtime-sending triple.

Tiongson had his best scoring night in SMB uniform with 22 points – none bigger than his last four points in the final frame when he steadied the ship for the Beermen after the FiberXers pounced on the absence of June Mar Fajardo on the floor.

The SMB star was called for a flagrant foul penalty 1 with 8:30 left in the fourth and was forced to sit on the bench. It was a stretch that Converge took advantage of as it went on a 25-12 run to recover from a once 19-point deficit and come within one, 113-114, inside the final two minutes.

SMB had multiple chances to put the game away – first on Fajardo’s two free throws which he split, CJ Perez’s four free throws off a foul where he only made one and then another two from import Malik Pope who missed it altogether – keeping the window open for Converge.

Pope, though, had his best game so far with 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks while Fajardo added 19 points and 14 boards. Don Trollano was a spark off the bench with 17 while Perez chipped in 11 for SMB which took a 64-45 lead in the first half.

Cheick Diallo had 28 points and 11 rebounds to pace Converge while Jordan Heading, who led the fight back finished with 25 points built on two fours and four triples.

Alec Stockton, who figured on several skirmishes with SMB players, finished 19 points and 10 assists for the FiberXers who remained at the second spot but now half a game behind NorthPort after sliding to an 8-4 slate.