THE Bay Area Dragons stayed unscathed ahead of their keenly awaited showdown with titleholder Barangay Ginebra, holding off Converge, 106-100, on crucial stops down the stretch in their game Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Dragons nearly squandered a 22-point lead on the FiberXers' pressing defense in the fourth but then had their own key stoppages at the finish to win the game.
Myles Blake Powell fired away 33 points while Glen Yang rifled in 23 to lead Bay Area to a fourth straight win while dealing Converge a second loss in three starts.
Coach Brian Goorjian was happy with their win but noted their inconsistency on things they need to do plus their lack of balance in scoring.
Against the FiberXers, Goorjian said it went down to a defensive battle with the Dragons prevailing in holding their rallying rivals scoreless in the last 1:26 of play.
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"Defense in the last two minutes was the key," said Goorjian as his troops held the FiberXers to 0-of-3 three-point shooting after coming within four at 100-104.
Following back-to-back missed three-pointers by Maverick Ahanmisi and Quincy Miller, Powell buried two free throws to all but seal the game.
It was Powell's last game in his initial four-game assignment for the Dragons with Andew Nicholson set to take over in their next four outings.
Then the team will decide who will be their import for the rest of the tourney.
The Dragons played pretty solid for 40 minutes before facing Converge's lockdown defense.
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"We showed how great we can be and we showed that ourselves are our worst enemy," said Yang, ruing their near foldup.
Yang played a key role, tossing in three triples, with the last stymieing Converge's rally after they drew within five, 96-101, on a three-pointer from Ahanmisi.
Miller led all scorers with 38 points that went with 14 rebounds and four assists while Ahanmisi, Jeron Teng and Allyn Bulanadi added 12, 11 and 11, respectively.
Ahanmisi scored all of his 12 markers in the fourth period on a 4-of-8 clip from the arc. (SB)
The Scores:
Bay Area 106 - Powell 33, Yang 23, Zhu 20, Blankley 10, Reid 7, Lam 6, Liu 4, Ju 3, Zheng 0, Liang 0.
Converge 100 - Miller 38, Ahanmisi 12, Teng 11, Bulanadi 11, Arana 7, Tratter 7, Ilagan 7, Racal 3, Melecio 2, Stockton 2, Murrell 0, Hill 0, Ambohot 0.
Quarters: 28-18, 57-41, 88-69, 106-100
