Converge hardly showed any mercy as it blew out an incomplete Titan Ultra side by 31 points, 105-74, for a rousing start to its PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup campaign on Saturday night at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.

Their foes playing all-Filipino once again as it continues to sort out its import woes, the FiberXers raced to a 19-9 start, and then exploded for 31 points in the second chapter to build a 50-26 lead at the half, setting the tone for the rout.

The crew took advantage not just of the Giant Risers’ manpower issue but their horrid shooting as well—they went 0-for-17 from deep in the first half, now the all-time league record for most three-point attempts without a make in a half.

(C) PBA Images

The drought ended when Brian Sajonia nailed a four, but that didn’t make any difference whatsoever as they couldn’t get any flow going while Coach Delta Pineda’s charges simply had their way and cruised to the victory.

“‘Yung chemistry ng mga bata compared to the last conference, medyo um-OK naman kami,” said Pineda, who’s pleased to see his men start their redemption tour from a disappointing Commissioner’s Cup on a high note.

Jalen Hudson led the balanced attack with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in a solid PBA comeback after previously suiting up for TNT.

Archie Concepcion came through with 16 points to lead the bench mob. Justin Arana had 14 points and five rebounds, as Mikey Williams added 13.

(C) PBA Images

Calvin Abueva and Justine Baltazar combined for 12 points and 21 of the team’s 67 rebounds in the victory, where the team also dished out 28 assists.

A total of 14 players saw action in the game, including Juan Gomez de Liano, who suffered an apparent ankle injury during Gilas Pilipinas’ loss to Australia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers’ third window last Monday.

The Rookie of the Year frontrunner only had two points but flirted with a double-double as he chalked up nine rebounds and nine assists in 25 minutes.

Converge will try to keep in step with Group B leaders NLEX (2-0) when it battles the 1-1 Terrafirma on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

Sajonia and Fran Yu, on the other hand, had 14 points apiece while King Caralipio added 10 markers for Titan Ultra, which fell to 0-2.

The Scores:

Converge 105 – Hudson 20, Concepcion 16, Arana 14, Williams 13, Clemente 9, Garcia 8, Abueva 6, Baltazar 6, Tungcab 6, Lepalam 5, Gomez de Liano 2, Policarpio 0, Muiyang 0, Eguilos 0.

Titan Ultra 74 – Yu 14, Sajonia 14, Caralipio 10, Ular 9, Javillonar 7, Munzon 6, Sumang 6, Cuntapay 4, Omega 2, Ambohot 2, Inigo 0, Dionisio 0, Amores 0.

Quarterscores: 19-9, 50-26, 78-49, 105-74.

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• Pearl Queens 54-41 Magic Stormers

Pearl Queens levelled the best-of-three National Basketball League quarterfinal after a spirited show.

Pearl Queens secured a well-deserved 54-41 victory against Magic Stomers in the NBL encounter at YMCA Court, Wandegeya on Sunday.

Magic Stormers came into the game after clinching game one and needed a victory to seal a semifinals slot but Pearl Queens decided to stretch the series.

Last year’s semifinalists scored only six points as the Pearl Queens opened a four-point (10-6) lead at the end of the first quarter.

Scovia Akello capped the second quarter with a driving layup as the Queens extended their lead to 10 points going into the halftime break.

Coming from a long break, Magic Stomers greatly improved their defensive unit, as their deficit was reduced to seven points (36-29) at the end of the frame.

The Stormers tried to limit the Queens but had run out of legs as Djeneba Ballo put the icing on the cake as the latter bagged a 13-point victory.

Scovia Akello (16 points) and Rose Adhiambo (10 points) led the Queens’ scoring chart in double digits while Jane Chisom (19 rebounds) and Agatha Kamwada (10 rebounds) cleaned the glasses.

On the other hand, Susan Eben dropped 17 points while Joy Nekesa and Grace Namuli made 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

The post NBL Playoffs: Pearl Queens level series with Magic Stormers appeared first on Kawowo Sports.

Phoenix got off to a roaring start in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup following a 98-86 come-from-behind victory over Magnolia in a battle between Group B squads at the Ynares Center II in Montalban on Saturday night.

The Fuel Masters got into a dry spell and trailed by as many as 16 during the first half, but turned it around come the third quarter before building a cushion early in the payoff period big enough to ward off their foes’ rally late in the bout.

“I think we played much better in the second half. We responded well. We defended well. We’re not known as the best defensive team, but we found a way to win, to get some stops,” lauded head coach Charles Tiu.

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A Bryan Santos triple pushed their lead to 86-71 barely three minutes into the fourth, then came the usual suspects, Tyler Tio, Jason Perkins, and Ricci Rivero, as the star troika put together the solid finish to complete the reversal.

Tio himself knocked down a crucial trifecta shortly after opposing guard Jerom Lastimosa cut the deficit to nine and pushed their lead back to a dozen, 95-83, with 2:22 left, putting them up by double digits for the rest of the bout.

Perkins then bulldozed his way inside and banked in a tough layup, before Rivero split his shots from the foul line with 17.9 seconds to spare to seal it.

“Give credit to the guys. They woke up and played differently in the second half,” offered Tiu, as his charges’ 31-point turnaround ultimately enabled Phoenix to join the Blackwater Bossing as the early winners in their group.

BJ Johnson top-scored for the winning side with 34 points, 26 of which he made in the middle quarters as he led the way in trekking the comeback trail.

Jason Perkins made 23 points, including 14 in the opening period. Tio chipped in 11 markers, nine of which he produced in the second half.

(C) PBA Images

The Fuel Masters will try to start the season-ending tilt with back-to-back wins when they face Meralco on July 15 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

Zav Lucero, on the other hand, led Magnolia with 20 points in the loss. Import KJ Buffen had 15 points in a foul-plagued outing while Ian Sangalang and Lastimosa came through with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

The defeat spoiled the historic night of Sangalang, whose basket at the 8:51 mark of the opening period made him the 104th member of the PBA’s 5,000 Points Club, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.

The Hotshots (0-1) will face the 1-0 Bossing next Saturday, July 17, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo with the hope to barge into the win column.

The Scores:

Phoenix 98 – Johnson 34, Perkins 23, Tio 11, Tuffin 7, Ballungay 6, Santos 6, Rivero 6, Delos Santos 3, Chua 2, Cullar 0, Reavis 0.

Magnolia 86 – Lucero 20, Buffen 15, Lastimosa 14, Sangalang 13, Lee 8, Barroca 4, Alfaro 3, Andrada 3, Gómez De Liano J. 2, Koon 2, Jopia 2, Dela Rosa 0.

Quarterscores: 26-32, 49-53, 79-71, 98-86.

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