Hopson drains first four-point game-winner

Jeo Ambohot plucks down the rebound in this heated piece of action. —PBA IMAGES

Nearing what looked like a second-straight loss and perhaps a wave of reminders of how terrible they could again get, Converge import Scotty Hopson cut a picture of calmness and hit a cold-blooded four-pointer with three ticks left on Tuesday night that put away a mighty enemy for good.

The FiberXers slipped past TNT, 96-95, to claim their second win and become the first team to fully weaponize the new rule in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

“In situations like that, I kind of just, get real calm, I get real confident and let just my instincts take over, you know,” said the American import, who finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to help the club carve out a gutsy win over the defending champion Tropang Giga at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I’ve made shots like that in my career in terms of game-winners, so this was just another one that went in,” he added. “Thank God I put those hours in by myself when I’m alone in a court, counting down ‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1…’”

Hopson helped cap Converge’s rally from 16 points down, which ultimately snapped TNT’s perfect start.

And naturally, interim head coach Franco Atienza couldn’t be happier.

“I told this before (during Media Day). It’s a learning curve,” he said of Converge’s bid to move from being the league’s doormat to a contender. “And how do you shorten that? By bringing veteran guys. We got Scotty, we got Alex (Cabagnot).

“It’s only our third game, we’re 2-1, but It’s too early. Somehow we surpassed our first conference standing and we tied our second conference standing,” he said. “We don’t want to be contended. We’re taking it one game at a time.

“Tomorrow we prepare for NorthPort. But being able to grind out something like this, against a tough team, gives you a bit of confidence,” he went on.

Schonny Winston finished with 14 points and seven rebounds while Justine Arana, Kevin Racal, and Cabagnot all chipped in double-digit scores for the young telco club.

Resident import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 32 points and 15 rebounds, while Calvin Oftana chipped in 22 and 10 for the Tropang Giga.

Converge looked like it was going to regress to its old, hapless self, trailing TNT for most of the night. It was only until a Winston triple with 1:23 remaining that the FiberXers eased out front. INQ