Converge foils all-pinoy NLEX

MANILA, Philippines — In a race to the playoffs as tight as this, it’s imperative for all aspirants to make the most of every advantage and go hard after every opening.

And so when Converge faced an NLEX team handicapped by the absence of an import, the FiberXers seized the moment.

But it didn’t come easy with the gritty Road Warriors’ locals fighting with all their heart and posing dangers all throughout the entertaining PBA Governors’ Cup Group A tiff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The FiberXers, though, were up for it, grinding out a 112-110 victory to climb to solo third at 5-4 behind NLEX (7-2) and San Miguel Beer (7-2) before the league took a 53-day break.

The two–point squeaker, a followup to their 120-103 romp over Terrafirma last Tuesday, gave them a bit more breathing space against fourth-running defending champion TNT (4-4), the Dyip (3-5), Macau (2-6) and Titan Ultra (2-7) in the chase for the four quarterfinal slots.

“Back-to-back (wins) but I think we need more adjustment on our defense. Imagine, they didn’t have an import but it’s a close game. So that’s something we need to work on in the coming break,” said coach Delta Pineda.

Cameron Clark, pouncing on the huge void left by injured NLEX reinforcement DeQuan Jones, scattered 37 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as he went 2-for-2 since coming over as Converge’s import in lieu of Jamaal Franklin.

Juan Gomez de Liano and Justin Arana shot a complementary 19 apiece and combined for 23 in the fourth, where the FiberXers outplayed the Road Warriors, 38-31, en route to the W.

Pineda’s troops are now back in the thick of things after going on a four-game slide.

“Thank God, kasi yung pinagdaanan namin na four consecutive losses, mabigat po ‘yun. But after our meeting with the guys, two consecutive games eto ang output namin. It means we are one, ang goal namin andun na,” said Pineda.

Later, Meralco, led by the rousing debut of Jordon Varnado (31), stopped a four-game slump with a 97-88 verdict over Barangay Ginebra. The Bolts improved to 3-5 while dropping the Gin Kings to 2-4.