Justin Arana put on a masterclass at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila on Friday, dropping a career-best 39 points to propel the Converge FiberXers to a dominant 149-124 blowout against Macau in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
The dominant big man displayed incredible efficiency on the floor, shooting a stellar 18-of-24 from the field and draining three of his four free throws. Arana complemented his scoring burst with 12 rebounds and three assists, guiding the FiberXers to their third straight win in the tournament.
Even after setting a massive personal milestone, Arana remained modest about his explosive performance.
“Kina-counter ko lang kung anong depensa ang binibigay sa akin. Luckily, pumapasok ‘yung mga tira so thankful lang,” he said.
Converge dictated the tempo early on, heading into the halftime break with a 67-61 edge. Though Macau managed a brief 83-82 turnaround in the middle of the third period, Arana and the FiberXers quickly recaptured momentum with a blistering scoring run to claim a 109-96 advantage before the fourth quarter.
The FiberXers showed no signs of slowing down in the final frame, ballooning the lead to wrap up the lopsided 25-point victory.
Import Michael Williams added 16 points for Converge, while Alec Stockton chipped in 15. The team also got double-figure contributions from Justine Baltazar and Calvin Abueva with 13 points each, Jordan Hudson with 12, Bryan Garcia with 11, and Jerrick Balanza Gomez de Liano with 10.
Meanwhile, the Giant Pandas slumped to their third consecutive loss, spoiling a spectacular 41-point effort from Ramon Cao. De’Vondre Perry and Kobey Lam fought hard with 35 and 26 markers, respectively, rounding out the only double-digit scorers for Macau.
Game Scores
- Converge (149) — Arana 39, Williams 16, Stockton 15, Baltazar 13, Abueva 13, Hudson 12, Garcia 11, Gomez de Liano 10, Muyang 8, Concepcion 4, Eguilos 4, Policarpio 2, Santos 2, Tungcab 0.
- Macau (124) — Cao 41, Perry 35, Lam 26, Chao 6, Chongqui 6, Y. Zhang 6, Z. Zhang 2, Ma 2, Z. Zhu 0, Liu 0.
Quarter Scores: 34-21, 67-61, 109-96, 149-124.