MANILA, Philippines – Converge mauled NLEX, 108-84, for its fifth straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup despite playing all-Filipino in the entire second half at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Saturday, November 5.

Aljun Melecio and Jeron Teng took charge as the FiberXers matched the longest win streak of the conference and gained a share of second place even after the abrupt exit of import Quincy Miller in the second quarter.

Miller got the boot with less than two minutes left in the first half after being slapped with a flagrant foul penalty two for extending his foot on the landing spot of Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.

The former NBA player finished 15 points and 9 rebounds to help Converge mount a sizable 58-41 advantage at halftime.

But instead of the FiberXers slowing down without Miller, they turned it up a notch in the last two quarters behind Melecio and Teng as they enjoyed a lead as big as 26 points.

Melecio fired a career-high 24 points on top of 6 assists and 5 rebounds, while Teng posted 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, with the two combining for the 11-0 blitz to start the third period that gave Converge its biggest lead.

Teng racked up 6 straight points during that stretch before Melecio drained a three-pointer for a 69-43 cushion.

Although the Road Warriors got within 10 points in the final salvo, 70-80, Melecio restored order for the FiberXers, scattering 13 points in a 19-8 run that pushed their lead to 99-78 on the way to the 24-point blowout.

Several locals rose to the occasion for Converge, which improved to 6-2 to tie guest team Bay Area at second place and equaled the longest win run achieved by Magnolia and Phoenix.

Justin Arana chalked up 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Abu Tratter put up 9 points and 4 rebounds, Maverick Ahanmisi netted 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Alec Stockton added 8 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.

As the FiberXers shared the wealth on offense, they also collectively keyed on NLEX import Earl Clark to limit the former NBA player to his lowest-tying scoring output of the conference.

Erupting for a pair 40-point games in his last two outings, Clark totaled just 15 points on a 5-of-15 clip to go with 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Ganuelas-Rosser delivered 24 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Road Warriors, who dropped to 3-4 as they lost four of their last five games.

The Scores

Converge 108 – Melecio 24, Miller 15, Teng 14, Arana 12, Tratter 9, Stockton 8, Ambohot 7, Ahanmisi 6, Ilagan 5, Murrell 3, DiGregorio 3, Racal 2.

NLEX 84 – Ganuelas-Rosser 24, Clark 15, Paniamogan 15, Alas 14, Rosales 8, Nieto 8, Chua 0, Miranda 0, Fonacier 0.

Quarters: 34-17, 58-41, 80-60, 108-84.

– Rappler.com