Justin Arana (left) finishes with a key basket for Converge. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
ANTIPOLO CITY—For the second straight conference, Alec Stockton came through with the clutch plays to complete a Converge comeback against a perennial contender.
It may not be a playoff game, but Stockton and the FiberXers were able to overhaul a big deficit to beat the Magnolia Hotshots, 93-91, Sunday at Ynares Center here, knocking down a tying three-pointer and feeding Justine Arana for the eventual winning basket.
“It just came down to my hands on those last-second shots and I just work on those,” said Stockton, who in Game 3 of the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals scored a buzzer-beating jumper to defeat San Miguel Beer that allowed Converge to stretch the series all the way to a deciding Game 5 which they eventually lost.
Stockton refused to take full credit for his latest heroics, but coach Franco Atienza paid tribute to the player who he has known dating back to the final season of the Alaska franchise in the PBA during the 2021-22 season.
“You see him coming out of FEU and his only skill was to play defense,” Atienza said before immediately clarifying to Stockton that wasn’t some sort of a knock, albeit praising him for putting in plenty of work in training sessions.
“You see him evolve into something into an All-Star caliber (player) which I believe he is,” Atienza added. “Whatever his hunger was when he was still a one-dimensional player, it remains the same.
He might even be hungrier. He’s a testament to any aspiring baller.”
Stockton finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists to help the FiberXers erase a 20-point third quarter deficit and go 2-1 to end the first week of the elimination phase.
Arana, whose basket off Stockton’s bounce pass came with five seconds left, posted 24 points and seven rebounds as the locals made up for the offensive woes of import Cheick Diallo, who was held to 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
Diallo did grab 16 rebounds for Converge, which will take an 11-day break before returning to action on Dec. 12 against NorthPort at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
By that time, the FiberXers might have No. 1 overall pick Justine Baltazar, who at press time began Pampanga’s MPBL National Finals showdown with Quezon in Dubai. INQ