MANILA – Bay Area escaped a furious solid endgame from Converge to walk away with a 106-100 win in their PBA Commissioner's Cup meeting at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Friday night.
The Dragons, despite taking the wire-to-wire win, nearly lost a 22-point lead as the FiberXers came alive in the fourth quarter only to fall short.
Just when things looked to be favoring Bay Area after taking a 97-83 lead with 8:20 remaining, Converge responded with a 17-7 run to cut the lead down to four, 104-100, with 1:29 to go.
The FiberXers fizzled from there, and Myles Powell made two free throws in the end for the final tally.
Before taking a backseat, Powell still put up one more explosive outing for the now 4-0 Bay Area squad, leading the team with 33 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
Andrew Nicholson will take over the designated import spot for the next four games beginning on Sunday night against Ginebra at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Glen Yang added 23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Quincy Miller fired 38 points with 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal to lead Converge, which dropped to 1-2.
In the first game, Meralco finally barged into the win column after drubbing Terrafirma, 105-92.
Despite the absence of head coach Norman Black, who entered the league's health and safety protocols, the Bolts gave the Dyip more frustrations as they stop their early woes in the conference.
Meralco pulled away from Terrafirma in the fourth quarter after holding them to just 16 points in the period.
Johnny O'Bryant fired 31 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, one block, and three steals, while Allein Maliksi added 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the Bolts, who moved up to 1-2.
Lester Prosper's 35-point, 18-rebound, three-assist, and three-block performance went to waste as the Dyip remain winless in the conference after four tries. (PNA)
