PBA: Clutch Winston Steers Converge to Hard-Fought Dub Over SMB

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Converge FiberXers just gained a morale-boosting win ahead of the upcoming playoffs after fending off the San Miguel Beermen in a nail-biting showdown, 100-97, in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup on June 11, 2025, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Down by four points, 89-93, in the final 3:22 of the fourth and final frame, Schonny Winston stepped up for the FiberXers after kicking off their demoralizing 8-0 run that trimmed San Miguel’s chances of securing the win.

Winston staged a personal 5-0 run, first by knocking down a cold-blooded three-pointer at the top of the key that pulled Converge to within a point, 92-93.

After a completed defensive stop on the other end, Winston gave Converge the lead with a sweet-looking perimeter pull-up jumper at the 2:37 mark for a 94-93 advantage.

Everything just looked like a blur in the next sequences as JL De Los Santos and King Carilipio pushed the FiberXers cushion to six points, 99-93, off a triple and a banker floater after an offensive board.

However, San Miguel didn’t shy away from adversity after Don Trollano sparked their hopes alive with a huge four-pointer to cut their deficit to a deuce, 99-97.

The FiberXers failed to add more points in the next 48 seconds, giving the Beermen a window of hope to equalize the ball game at 99-all when they got back the leather in the final 21 seconds of the fourth.

Unfortunately, an uncharacteristic error from Marcio Lassiter caused them their chance, after the PBA’s All-Time Leader in three-pointers made failed to hoist his floater attempt before the shot clock expired.

San Miguel was rewarded with another chance to tie or take the lead after De Los Santos split his trip at the charity stripe for a three-point lead, 100-97. It was still plenty of time for the Beermen to produce the last heave with 3.3 seconds left, but CJ Perez missed his trey attempt from the left baseline.

Converge avoided disaster after wasting their 18-point lead in the first half when the Beermen torched them from downtown in the third and pivotal quarter.

San Miguel even snatched the driver’s seat, holding a nine-point advantage in the fourth but thanks to the clutch baskets of Winston that saved Converge’s hopes of a slim twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.

Winston top-scored the FiberXers with 25 big points including five of the most important markers in the final 2:34 of the game, while Justin Arana had an efficient night shooting the ball and finished with 21 points built from 10/16 shooting.

On the other hand, the Beermen received a near triple-double performance from June Mar Fajardo, who tallied 17 points, 23 rebounds, and seven assists, while Perez produced the same amount of points.