Converge and Phoenix look to wrap up the Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament with a third place finish. The four-team tournament in Davao City serves as preparation for the 50th season of the PBA.
The Converge FiberXers and the Phoenix Fuel Masters collide for pride and a podium finish in the battle for third place of the Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament on Sunday, Aug. 24.
The match is set at 5:00 p.m. at the USEP Gymnasium in Davao City.
The FiberXers enter the contest fresh from a heartbreaking 91-93 loss to Blackwater, which advanced to the Finals with an unbeaten slate.
[RELATED STORY: Blackwater survives Converge, marches on to Kadayawan Finals after elims sweep]
Converge nearly pulled off a comeback, erasing a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit through the inside dominance of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar.
With the game on the line, it was Alec Stockton who took center stage, tying the game at 87 with 2:14 left. But he faltered down the stretch, missing his last three attempts as the FiberXers’ rally fell short.
Phoenix, meanwhile, remains winless in the tournament but can still salvage a bronze finish.
The Fuel Masters gave eventual finalist NLEX all it could handle before falling, 96-100. Ricci Rivero even had a chance to send the game to overtime, but his three-point heave in the dying seconds bounced off the rim.
[ALSO READ: NLEX fends off Phoenix arrange Kadayawan Finals vs Blackwater]
Adding intrigue to the third-place match is the fact that these two squads met just last Friday, Aug. 22, in the elimination round.
Converge escaped with a 100-98 thriller, capitalizing on Phoenix’s late collapse. The Fuel Masters squandered a 98-95 lead with just over 40 seconds left as Bryan Santos drained three free throws to force a tie, before Baltazar buried the game-winning one-hander to seal it for Converge.
ALSO READ: Baltazar scores go-ahead basket as Converge survives Phoenix for 1st Kadayawan tourney win]
With redemption at stake for Phoenix and Converge looking to cap its campaign on a high note, Sunday’s clash promises to be another nail-biter between two young, hungry squads.
(With reports from Jan Ballesteros)
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[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital with the help of AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]