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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Arana, Converge pounce on foul-plagued Thompson, ROS to draw first blood

Arana, Converge pounce on foul-plagued Thompson, ROS to draw first blood

Published Feb 5, 2025 11:45 am

At A Glance

  • Converge pounced on the absence of Rain or Shine import Deon Thompson in the second half to pull away with a 130-118 victory and draw first blood in their best-of-three quarterfinals series in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Justin Arana flexed his muscles after powering his way inside and scoring an and-1 against Rain or Shine’s defense – a celebration which seemed to be fitting in a contest where Converge simply asserted its brute force and size inside the paint.

Converge pounced on the absence of Rain or Shine import Deon Thompson in the second half to pull away with a 130-118 victory and draw first blood in their best-of-three quarterfinals series in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

PBA Images10 (77).jpg

The FiberXers survived the initial onslaught from the Elasto Painters, who led by as many as 17 behind their hot start, before exploiting their height advantage in the second half after Thompson fouled out of the contest with 8:34 left in the third.

With Rain or Shine having little resistance without its key big man, Cheick Diallo towered over with 35 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks while Arana, likewise, announced his return from an ankle injury with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Jordan Heading provided the perfect complement to the team’s attack with 21 points – built on five triples – to go with nine assists while Schonny Winston added 17.

Alec Stockton and Justine Baltazar had 13 apiece for Converge which pulled away in the final frame behind a 17-4 run that turned a tight 105-104 lead into a comfortable 122-108 advantage.

ROS actually looked to be breaking the game wide open after taking a 34-17 spread in the opening frame. 

The Elasto Painters, however, after firing seven triples inside the first 10 minutes, cooled down, allowing the FiberXers to make a comeback and eventually take control when Thompson got called for a foul after Diallo landed on his foot while taking a jump shot.

Despite playing all-Filipino, ROS, behind the efforts of Caelan Tiongson, Adrian Nocum and Anton Asistio, managed to keep in step but the gaping hole left by Thompson proved to be too much to fill in for the rest of the team.

Tiongson had 23 points to lead ROS while Thompson finished with 14 before hitting the showers early – the same output for Asistio and Nocum.

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