PBA on Tour: Converge routs Northport to end campaign on strong note
MANILA, Philippines—Converge easily handled Northport in the PBA on Tour, 113-84, to wrap up its campaign at San Juan Arena on Friday.
The FiberXers barely broke a sweat in the rout of Batang Pier to end the preseason with a 6-5 record.
“It just so happened that we were able to make our shots. Northport stayed in zone (defense) so we just took what they were giving up and it’s nice that we hit our shots,” stand-in coach Franco Atienza said.
“We got some good stops on defense as well, so as good as a team that Northport is, we played pretty well.”
The FiberXers’ breakaway started as early as the second quarter.
Converge led by just two, 41-39, before going on a quarter-ending run to take a pivotal 55-43 lead at the half.
Batang Pier was unable to regain their poise after that.
It didn’t help Northport’s cause that coach Bonnie Tan’s wards only scored 18 points in the fourth and final quarter, which saw the squad end the PBA On Tour at 5-6.
Adrian Wong top scored for Converge with 23 points while Mike Nieto played an all-around game of 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Justin Arana also registered a double-double, himself, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
MJ Ayaay ended with 19 markers for Batang Pier. JM Calma, meanwhile, also scattered 18 markers to go along with 10 boards in a losing effort.