PBA: Justin Arana drops career-high 39 as Converge routs Macau

Justin Arana poured in a career-high 39 points to lead Converge to a 149-124 rout of Macau in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Arana shot 18-of-24 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, while also grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out three assists as the FiberXers notched their third straight win of the conference.

Despite posting a career-high, Arana remained humble about the milestone.

“Kina-counter ko lang kung anong depensa ang binibigay sa akin. Luckily, pumapasok ‘yung mga tira so thankful lang,” he said.

Converge came out strong and took a 67-61 lead into halftime before Macau grabbed an 83-82 advantage midway through the third quarter. Arana and the FiberXers quickly responded, however, pulling away for a 109-96 lead entering the fourth period.

The FiberXers continued to pour it on in the final quarter, eventually cruising to the 25-point victory.

Import Michael Williams added 16 points, while Alec Stockton contributed 15 for Converge.

The win spoiled Ramon Cao’s 41-point explosion for Macau. De’Vondre Perry added 35 points, while Kobey Lam chipped in 26, as the trio accounted for all of the Giant Pandas’ double-digit scorers in the loss that dropped Macau to 0-3.

Scores:

Converge 149 – Arana 39, Williams 16, Stockton 15, Baltazar 13, Abueva 13, Hudson 12, Garcia 11, Gomez de Liano 10, Muyang 8, Concepcion 4, Eguilos 4, Policarpio 2, Santos 2, Tungcab 0.

Macau 124 – Cao 41, Perry 35, Lam 26, Chao 6, Chongqui 6, Y. Zhang 6, Z.Zhang 2, Ma2, Z.Zhu 0, Liu 0.

Quarters: 34-21, 67-61, 109-96, 149-124.

—JKC, GMA News