Converge downs NLEX after surviving Abueva endgame folly

Calvin Abueva could only express gratitude to the Good Lord after almost costing what was already a sure win for Converge.

“Thank you, Lord!” Abueva said to end his prayer before the crucifix that has been a long-time fixture of the Smart Araneta Coliseum hallway on Friday.

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Abueva and the FiberXers prevailed, 112-110, over the import-less NLEX Road Warriors to rise to 5-4 in the PBA Governors’ Cup, but the game almost went into overtime when rookie L-Jay Gonzales fired what was initially a meaningless four-point shot before the buzzer.

The folly on the part of Abueva was fouling Gonzales in that attempt—which went in and gave the Road Warriors a lifeline with 0.6 seconds left for what turned out to be the final score.

NLEX needed a miracle, but the Road Warriors couldn’t get an offensive rebound off Gonzales’ deliberate miss as Converge came away victorious—to the relief of Abueva—in the final playdate before the conference takes a long break for the Gilas Pilipinas campaigns.

“Yung matanda ko nawala sa focus (the old guy lost focus),” joked coach Delta Pineda in poking fun at Abueva being an elder statesman.

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Pineda, though, is glad that Abueva has been one of those producing for Converge, which has now won back-to-back games to atone for a four-game slide.

With import Cameron Clark unbeaten after two appearances and scoring 37 points, and Justin Arana and Juan Gomez de Liaño also delivering, the FiberXers jumped to third place in Group A until the resumption of hostilities in October.

“After our meeting with our guys, we’ve won two consecutive games,” Pineda said. “This output means that we are one with our goal and that we focus on our team, which is our family.

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“But I think we need more adjustments on our defense,” Pineda went on. “They played without an import but it was still a close game. So that’s something we need to work on in the break.”

The win gave the FiberXers some cushion over the others chasing playoff spots in their group, with defending champion TNT at 4-4 and Terrafirma at 3-5.

NLEX dropped to a tie with San Miguel Beer for the lead in the group at 7-2 as it played sans an import following DeQuan Jones’ nasty leg injury against TNT last Tuesday.

Despite playing without a reinforcement, the Road Warriors fought valiantly to even take leads in the second half. Their last came on Robert Bolick’s four-point shot to make it 99-97 with over two minutes to go.

But Gomez de Liano answered with a four of his own while Arana scored a basket to make it a 103-99 in favor of the FiberXers.

NLEX coach Jimmy Alapag was all praises for the way the squad performed despite missing an import, and that resolve is something he hopes to carry in October with new import Deonte Burton.

Burton is no stranger to Alapag, whom he coached while he was an assistant of the NBA G-League’s Stockton Kings. He also saw action with the Sacramento Kings, playing two games in 2023.