In the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Ynares Center, Converge overcame a 20-point deficit to defeat Magnolia, 93-91, thanks to a layup by Justin Arana off a pass from Alec Stockton with 5.8 seconds remaining.

Thanks to the heroics of Arana and Stockton, the FiberXers overcame a 65-45 hole to defeat the Hotshots for the first time in two games and win their second straight three-game winning streak in five days.

With 43.7 seconds remaining, Stockton made a daring pull-up three-pointer to level the game at 91-all before Arana’s marginal basket.

While Stockton missed a triple-double after finishing with 18 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds versus Magnolia, Arana ended with 24 points on 9-for-12 field goal shooting and seven rebounds.

The two took over while Chieck Diallo had a rough night. Despite grabbing 16 rebounds, he finished with 10 points on 4-for-15 field goals.

Franco Atienza, coach of Converge, expressed his satisfaction with the decisive victory over the conference runner-up from the previous season.

By the end of the third quarter, Converge had reduced the lead to eight points, 75-67, after gradually overcoming a 20-point hole halfway through the quarter.

With 2:28 remaining, Mark Barroca made a layup to give Magnolia a 91-85 lead, but that was the last point the Hotshots scored.

Diallo started the FiberXers’ 8-0 final kick with a three-pointer with 1:16 left. At the end of the game, Jerrick Ahanmisi missed a three-pointer that would have forced overtime.

The Hotshots lost despite the efforts of Ricardo Ratliffe, who finished with 25 points and 19 rebounds, and Jerom Lastimosa, who finished with 14 points.

The Scores

Converge 93 – Arana 24, Stockton 18, Racal 19, Diallo 10, Heading 8, Santos 8, Andrade 5, Winston 5, Nieto 3, Delos Santos 2.

Magnolia 91 – Ratliffe 25, Lastimosa 14, Sangalang 12, Ahanmisi 12, Lee 10, Lucero 10, Barroca 6, Laput 0, Dionisio 0.

Quarter scores: 22-26; 38-53; 67-75; 93-91. 

Meanwhile, Rain or Shine makes their PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup debut on Sunday, while MAGNOLIA and Meralco aim to join the early leaders.

After a strong conference in which the Elasto Painters advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion TNT, Rain or Shine makes their Commissioner’s Cup debut. Rain or Shine’s import will be Deon Thompson, a 36-year-old athlete who previously won an NCAA Division I title with North Carolina. With RoS, Mike Malonzo, who was selected as the 16th pick this season, will make his PBA debut.

Can Bolts, who are shorthanded, take the lead?

After defeating Phoenix 111-109 last Friday to start the conference, Meralco is also aiming for a spot at the top of the team rankings alongside Eastern and NorthPort. Chris Banchero and Allein Maliksi are still out due to injuries, therefore Meralco will continue to play with a reduced team.

In the match against Phoenix, Meralco overcame a 23-point deficit to win. The Bolts’ poor free throw shooting, which saw them go only 12-for-21 (57 percent) from the line with import Akil Mitchell making just six of his ten attempts, was one of the causes of their deficit.