King conquers with 46-point explosion as Beermen trounce FiberXers

MANILA, Philippines -- The King rises for San Miguel.

George King had a conference-high 46-point outburst to carry the Beermen over the Converge FiberXers, 126-114, in their PBA Governors’ Cup clash Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

King also had 14 rebounds and six assists in the game that sent the FiberXers to a fourth straight defeat. 

According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, this is the eighth straight game, dating back to last season with the Blackwater Bossing, where he scored at least 30 points. 

“Absolutely [there was a conscious effort to start strong]. I feel like in the game that we’ve lost, NLEX and TNT, we did not start off well… So, it was important tonight,” King said after the game. 

“I mentioned that to the team before the game, let's come out like we're down 10. Because even in the losses that we've had, two losses that we've had, we've come out late in the second half and we've made a run. But unfortunately, by then, it was too late.

The deficit was too large for us to come back and come out victorious at the end,” he added. 

“So, I challenged our team before the game to imagine as if from tip, we're down 10. And so, I believe we did a good job. We executed offensively, we got some stops. I think we showed moments defensively where we're really good for spurts. And I think we have more that we can grow from, from this game.” 

With the Beermen holding a one-point lead, 64-65, at the half, King, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and Don Trollano teamed up and took an 80-66 lead. 

Converge tried to keep up with the offense of San Miguel, but they could not do so. 

The lead grew to as much as 21 points, 108-87, after a jumper by Jericho Cruz. 

The FiberXers tried to nip the lead away, but their run came up too little too late. 

Don Trollano provided ample support with 27 points, three assists and two rebounds. Jerrick Ahanmisi added 15 markers. 

June Mar Fajardo struggled from the field with a 1-of-8 shooting split, finishing with just five points. But he had 21 rebounds and 10 assists to go with four blocks. 

Calvin Abueva and Jamaal Franklin carried Converge with 26 points and 12 rebounds each. The former had three assists, two blocks and a steal, while the latter had a dime and a steal. 

Justine Baltazar chipped in 19 markers and eight boards, while Justin Arana added 17 points. 

San Miguel rose to a 5-2 win-loss record, while Converge dropped to a 3-4 card.