CONVERGE and Phoenix face off while TNT tangle with unpredictable Blackwater in an explosive double header as the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup action continues on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.<\/p>\r\r
The FiberXers and the Fuel Masters duke it out at 5 p.m., with the Tropang Giga taking the Bossing at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\r\r
Mentored by acting coach Franco Atienza, Converge scraped past NLEX, 102-91, last Tuesday, while Phoenix finally ended its fourth-game losing skid to start the conference by stunning erstwhile unbeaten NorthPort, 115-109.<\/p>\r\r
Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin said there's no secret to winning in the league, except to really work hard. And that's basically what the Fuel Masters did against the Batang Pier, who entered Tuesday's game carrying a franchise-tying 5-0 start.<\/p>\r\r
\"We're 1 and 4 right now, and we'd continue to work hard to get the next win,\" said Jarin, after the game. \"One step at a time, so the most important game for us right now is the one on Thursday against Converge. Tough team, young team. So we need to rest our bodies and get into game-time [mode] as soon as we leave the venue [tonight].\"<\/p>\r\r
Phoenix's hulking import Donovan Smith overcame a slow start in the first half to finish with 32 points and 14 rebounds against NorthPort.<\/p>\r\r
Smith will be battling NBA veteran Cheick Diallo, whose solid stats line of 37 points and 18 boards helped Converge complete the win against NLEX.<\/p>\r\r
As far as TNT is concerned, the team will just have to face its own challenges considering the struggle it had playing minus veterans Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams to start the conference.<\/p>\r\r
Castro, the Governors' Cup Finals Most Valuable Player, is still under minutes restriction, while the ageless Williams was then in the United States during the first few games of the team.<\/p>\r\r
TNT clawed its way to its first win last week when it outlasted Magnolia, 103-100.<\/p>\r\r
That game saw Calvin Oftana and import Rondaw Hollis-Jefferson become the first local-import teammates in 33 years to score 40 or more points.<\/p>\r\r
Oftana, the Cebuano hotshot, fired a career-high 42 points in highly charged performance from beyond the arc, while the two-time PBA Best Import had 41 in an explosive scoring burst to end the team's winless start.<\/p>","article_custom_fields":"{\"\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_keywords\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_description\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_title\":[\"\"],\"sponsored_flag\":[\"\"],\"offer_flag\":[\"off\"],\"featured_article_flag\":[\"\"],\"drupal_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":null,\\\"properties\\\":{\\\"PUBLISHED\\\":0,\\\"PROMOTED\\\":0,\\\"STICKY\\\":0},\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"wp_custom_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"article_tags\":[\"\"],\"show_image\":[\"off\"],\"Disable_Ad\":[\"off\"],\"disable_player\":[\"off\"],\"column\":[\"\"],\"kicker\":[\"\"],\"edel\":[\"\"],\"delu\":[\"\"],\"delt\":[\"Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.\"],\"premium\":[\"off\"],\"Redirect_URL\":[\"\"],\"Registration_required\":[\"off\"],\"background_image\":[\"off\"],\"user_needs\":[\"\"],\"page_number\":\"0\",\"initial_publication\":\"\",\"date_created\":\"2024-12-18 20:48:07\",\"date_modified\":\"2024-12-18 20:48:41\",\"last_modified_user\":\"Mhel Jhon Flores\",\"section_color\":\"#08F304\",\"target_page\":\"0\",\"cxense_metatags\":null}","cms_type":"live","author_id":2616,"section_id":3,"seo_meta_keywords":"Converge,eyes,3rd,win,vs,Phoenix","seo_meta_description":"","seo_meta_title":"Converge eyes 3rd win vs Phoenix","publish_time":"2024-12-19 00:12:00","related_articles_ids":"","article_tags":"","sub_section_id":0,"visit_count":10,"sponsored_flag":0,"offer_flag":0,"featured_article_flag":0,"media_gallery_flag":0,"video_gallery_flag":0,"highlight_flag":0,"top_story_flag":0,"is_updated":0,"is_old_article":0,"old_article_id":0,"article_byline":"Richard Dy","ts":"2024-12-19 16:37:08","last_edited":"2024-12-18 20:48:41","alt_publish_time":"2024-12-18 20:48:47","image_path":null,"author_name":"Richard Dy","section_name":"Sports","sub_section_name":"","slide_show":0,"breaking_news":0,"visit_count_update_date":"2024-12-19 16:37:08","old_cms_article_id":null,"permalink":"2024\/12\/19\/sports\/converge-eyes-3rd-win-vs-phoenix\/2023971","show_image_in_thumb":0,"api_status":2,"a_custom_data":"{\"exclude_from_gallery\":null,\"lead_image_id\":null}","publication_id":2,"max_publish_time":"2024-12-19 00:12:00","page_number":"0","homepage_article_flag":0,"article_shortlink":null,"cropped_image":0};
CONVERGE and Phoenix face off while TNT tangle with unpredictable Blackwater in an explosive double header as the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup action continues on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The FiberXers and the Fuel Masters duke it out at 5 p.m., with the Tropang Giga taking the Bossing at 7:30 p.m.
