PBA: CJ Cansino, Marvin Jones catch fire late as Meralco torches Converge for winning start

Meralco relied on a late surge from CJ Cansino and import Marvin Jones to pull away from Converge, securing a 109-88 opening win in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. 

Cansino and Jones buried crucial baskets from downtown in the fourth period that set the stage for the 21-point rout as the Bolts kicked off their campaign on the right note. 

Jones poured in 29 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a block while Cansino had 23 markers, including 20 in the second half, laced with eight boards, one dime, one steal, and one block as they sent the FiberXers (1-2) to their second loss in a row. 

"They (Converge) did well in the first quarter, I think they made 6 out of 9 threes, they got a big lead. Obviously, it's their third game so may amuyan sila sa court and kami it's our first game," Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo said.

"You know, in those first games, it's not written in stone but I think we did better. We defended better, we moved the ball better, and in the fourth quarter, when they threw that zone in us, we were patient enough to move the ball around."

Cansino got his offense going in the second half after being limited to just three points in the first two quarters, scoring 12 points early in the third period that sent Meralco to a 68-54 lead before they ended the frame enjoying a 79-67 cushion. 

Chris Newsome and Jones then buried back-to-back three-pointers for an 89-74 spread before Cansino caught fire and knocked down two consecutive four-point shots that turned it into a 97-79 advantage halfway through the fourth. 

Converge, which was reeling from an overtime loss to Terrafirma, just could not get anything going in despite efforts from Justin Arana and MJ Garcia. 

Alec Stockton paced Converge with 18 points while Justin Baltazar and Arana both had double-double efforts. Baltazar posted 12 points and 15 rebounds while Arana churned out 16 markers and 11 boards. 

—JKC, GMA Integrated News