Fiberxers steal OT thriller

MANILA, Philippines — Converge pretty much squeezed every bit of juice out of its elims-capping duel with reigning champion TNT.

It was physical. It was tight. It was a great test of character.

A playoffs-quality game before the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs. And it was all hard action for 53 full minutes.

Showing they’re made of sterner stuff, the FiberXers climbed out of a 10-point hole in regulation then outlasted the Tropang 5G in a thrilling finish in the extra period for a 114-112 squeaker last night at Ynares Center-Antipolo.

The dramatic steal highlighted by Alec Stockton’s five-point cluster in the last 1:23 of the fourth and winning layup in OT gave Converge third seeding in the group at 8-4.

It was also sweet revenge for the heartbreak TNT handed the FiberXers last July 28 in the first round, where the Tropang 5G rallied to a 110-107 victory on Rey Nambatac’s buzzer-beating triple.

“Malaking tulong ito before the playoffs. Alam naman natin this is one of the big boys – TNT. So talagang big challenge for us. Sabi ko lang sa mga bata, just don’t give up,” said coach Delta Pineda, whose charges will play the No. 2 seed from Group B in a best-of-five quarterfinal series.

Stockton shot 12 of his 19 in the fourth and OT to complemented the game-long brilliance of import Cameron Clark (27), Juan Gomez de Liaño (22 with eight assists) and Justine Baltazar (19-12).

Later, Barangay Ginebra boosted its bid for the last quarters seat in Group B with a crucial 106-89 romp over playoffs-bound Phoenix. The Gin Kings climbed to No. 4 at 4-5, dislodging Meralco (4-6) while the third-running Fuel Masters slipped to 5-4.