PBA: San Miguel narrowly escapes Converge to break through in Commissioner's Cup

San Miguel dug deep to survive Converge, 103-99, and barge into the win column of the PBA Commissioner's Cup on Wednesday at the Ynares Center Antipolo. 

The Beermen broke a 99-all deadlock late in the fourth quarter en route to the slim four-point victory, bouncing back from a tough opener loss to Titan and sending the FiberXers to their third straight loss. 

June Mar Fajardo posted a double-double effort of 27 points and 17 rebounds alongside three assist and two steals while CJ Perez and Don Trollano chipped in 24 and 18 markers apiece. Import Marcus Lee had an all-around outing of 10 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. 

Marcio Lassiter and Mikey Williams traded long buckets in the fourth quarter before June Mar Fajardo completed a three-point play that sent the Beermen to an 86-81 cushion. 

Another Lassiter triple sent San Miguel to a 99-95 lead, but Alec Stockton responded with a huge four-point shot that tied things up at 99-all. Stockton, though, fouled Trollano that allowed the latter to sink a pair of charities to give San Miguel a narrow 101-99 edge in the final 27 seconds. 

Fajardo then put the finishing kick by knocking down an uncontested layup as Justine Baltazar's desperate four-point attempt didn't go in. 

Baltazar top-scored Converge with 19 points while import Kylor Kelley had 12 markers and 20 rebounds  as the FiberXers fell to their third loss in four games. 

They previously bowed Terrafirma and Meralco after opening their campaign with a resounding win over guest team Macau. 

Scores:

San Miguel 103 – Fajardo 27, Perez 24, Trollano 18, Lassiter 11, Lee 10, Tautuaa 7, Miller 4, Rosales 2, Brondial 0, Cahilig 0, Tiongson 0.

Converge 99 – Baltazar 19, Stockton 17, Williams 14, Concepcion 13, Kelley 12, Garcia 11, Arana 6, Policarpio 5, Reyson 2, Muyang 0, Santos 0.

Quarters: 20-25, 42-50, 73-71, 103-99.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News