Justin Arana delivered a career-high 39 points to lead Converge to a 149-124 rout of Macau on Friday, July 17, moving the FiberXers level with idle NLEX atop Group A in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Arana’s outing, which also included 12 rebounds, helped Converge build an early 19-point lead. Macau clawed back with a stirring third-period rally, but Converge regained control down the stretch to secure their third straight win in as many games — a franchise-best offensive output in the process.

Arana, Converge Weather Macau’s Rally

Mikey Williams, Alec Stockton, Justine Baltazar, Calvin Abueva, Jalen Hudson, MJ Garcia and Juan Gomez de Liano all contributed as Converge pulled away on the scoreboard. The win came just days after a tighter 105-103 victory over Terrafirma last Wednesday.

Winning coach Delta Pineda credited the team’s up-tempo approach for the result.

“Noong first quarter po ‘yung transition namin, kung titingnan n’yo, ‘yun po strength namin. Nawala ng second, then good thing after noong huddle nagising po mga bata. Nu’ng second half po ‘yung transition namin nandoon na, tumakbo na ho ulit ‘yung mga bata,” Pineda said.

Arana set the tone throughout, scoring eight, 14 and 11 points across the first three quarters before finishing with his new career-high.

“Kina-counter ko lang kung ano depensa nila sa akin. Luckily, pumapasok ‘yung tira so thankful lang,” Arana said, following up his 31-point, 10-rebound outing against the Dyip.

Cao’s Record Night, Chongqui’s Ejection

Ramon Cao led all scorers with a new PBA career-high 41 points, anchored by a new league-record five four-pointers. De’Vondre Perry added 35 points and Kobey Lam chipped in 26, but the rest of Macau’s roster failed to provide enough support as the team dropped to 0-3 on the campaign.

Macau’s night was further complicated by the second-quarter ejection of top playmaker Damien Chongqui, who was disqualified with 5:26 remaining in the period, shortly after Cao’s second four-pointer of the frame made it 45-51.

Officials ruled that Chongqui’s hard throw of the ball at referee Albert Nubla was excessive, and he exited the game with just six points and three assists — a sharp drop-off from his 22-point, eight-assist showing in a 109-123 loss to San Miguel Beer two days earlier.

Even a man down, Macau battled on. The Giant Pandas briefly took the lead at 83-82 and tied the score at 86-all. But Williams and Arana combined to spark a 23-10 run to close out the third period at 109-96, setting up a 40-28 final quarter as Converge pulled away for good.