ALEC Stockton came through in the clutch for Converge, leading to a 105-97 victory over Meralco Wednesday and a clearer shot at a quarterfinals slot in the PBA Governors' Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Stockton scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, including seven of the FiberXers' last nine points that ultimately bailed them out of the tight back-and-forth game and into a third straight win in Group B.
Now with a third-running 5-4 record, Converge can at least keep the slot and gain outright passage into the next round if it prevails over Magnolia on Monday.
The way his team displayed character in the game that had a total eight deadlocks and 24 lerad changes and managed to follow up its equally pulsating 100-99 squeaker over Terrafirma Saturday pleased Converge interim head coach Franco Atienza.
"You can replicate all the scenarios in practice, e. One thing you cannot replicate is the pressure. You get that from playoffs, you get that from games like this," said Atienza.
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"We played that against Terrafirma and we were able to somehow pass the test," added Atienza. "We're just glad that our players held on, our import was there and, of course, this guy (Stockton) showed up and he got the work done."
Stockton also wound up with 11 rebounds to complement the game-high 32 points and 10 rebounds of new import Jalen Jones, who came in to replace the injured Scotty Hopson.
"I just really want to give my best for the team to win. We really wanted it bad, this game," said Stockton.
The former Far Eastern U standout displayed it to the fullest after rookie CJ Cansino canned three charities to make it a 97-96 Meralco lead.
Stockton knocked down a shotclock-beating three-pointer despite pressure from Bong Quinto for the go-ahead basket before following that up with a turnaround jumper against Chris Banchero.
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He then completed his work for the night, which included five assists and two steals, with two charities that made it a safe 103-97 spread, only 36.6 ticks left.
The loss, its third in nine games, foiled Meralco's bid to gain a tie for first place in the bracket although it remained assured of a quarterfinals ticket notwithstanding the outcome of its last elimination round game against Terrafirma on Saturday.
Allen Durham finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Bolts with Cansino netting a career-high 21 points along with six boards. (NC)
The Scores :
CONVERGE 105 - Jones 32, Stockton 27, Arana 12, Winston 8, Caralipio 8, Delos Santos 7, Santos 6, Ambohot 3, Nieto 2, Melecio 0, Andrade 0, Vigan-Fleming 0, Fornilos 0.
MERALCO 97 - Durham 25, Cansino 21, Newsome 14, Quinto 12, Banchero 10, Caram 6, Hodge 5, Bates 2, Almazan 2, Jose 0, Mendoza 0, Rios 0.
QUARTERS: 29-30, 51-53, 79-77, 105-97
