Converge, Phoenix survives gutsy foes to stay spotless in Governors’ Cup

Raphael Gabriele Lloren

Converge FiberXers and Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters kept their perfect records intact in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup, escaping a feisty Terrafirma and outlasting a shorthanded Meralco, respectively, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, July 15.

What looked like a comfortable Converge victory quickly turned into a tense finish as the FiberXers narrowly escaped Terrafirma’s furious late-minute rally, 105–103, capped by Maverick Ahanmisi’s last-second four-pointer that missed and nearly flipped the outcome of the game.

After trailing early, the FiberXers bulldozed their way inside the paint for two crucial buckets before cashing in two more from go-ahead freebies to seize a 39–33 cushion midway through the second period.

The Dennis Pineda-mentored squad looked like a smooth-sailing mission, going an extra mile to nurse a game-high 16-point lead entering the fourth canto.

But the final four minutes overwrote the expected storyline as the Columbian Dyip squad decided to completely break the script.

The white-and-green clad men then unloaded a 10–2 scoring blietzkrieg, five of those sourced from hot-handed Justin Strings, before Juami Tiongson buried a beyond-the-arc shot with 31.5 seconds remaining to whittle down the gap  to two points.

Given the golden chance to flip the script, Terrafirma let it slip once more in a painful case of Déjà vu following their gut-wrenching loss to NLEX last outing.

Justin Arana powered the FiberXers with a monster double-double of 31 points, and 10 rebounds, with an efficient shooting of 14-of-19 from the field.

Juan Gomez de Liano added in 19 points for the offensive game, while Justine Baltazar swatted his own version of a double-double performance with 16 points and 14 boards.

The Triumvirate firepower propelled Converge to back-to-back victories, bolstering the FiberXers to the top two with a two-to-none win-to-lose record in Group A.

For Terrafirma, Import Strings put on a scoring masterclass regardless of the losing side, clipping in 40 points and 11 rebounds.

Tuffin’s go-ahead freebie lifts Phoenix 

Kenneth Tuffin banked a go-ahead freebie in crunch time to lift Phoenix past an import-less Meralco, 98–97, pushing the Fuel Masters to a 2–0 record in Group B.

The Fuel Masters took advantage of a Meralco squad missing import Jordan Varnado, who sat out with a hamstring injury.

BJ Johnson helmed the offensive prowess, with 26 points and six rebounds, while Ricci Rivero contributed 20.

After a tightly contested opening half, the Fuel Masters led 94–91 late in the final canto, moments before the Painters erupted with a blistering 6–0 run and seized a 97–94 advantage with 1:19 left on the clock.

That promising winning run proved not enough of a cushion, as the Bolts quickly unraveled crucial giveaways that sent Phoenix marching back to the free-throw line.

Phoenix capitalized, going 4-of-6 from the line, as Tuffin delivered when it mattered most, sinking two pressure-packed free throws to nudge Phoenix ahead by a single point.

But for the blue-clad men, the game-saving stop came down when Cansino misfired on an unnecessary four-point heave in the dying seconds of the final frame.

CJ Cansino topped Meralco’s scoring with 18 points, joined by Allein Maliksi, who turned in one of his best performances in recent games with 16.

With reports from ABS-CBN and The Manila Bulletin