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The San Miguel Beermen couldn't stop the fiery Robert Bolick before the end of the final period as NLEX defeated SMB, 104-99, in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The NLEX shooting guard was unstoppable and scored 20 of his game-high 39 points in the final quarter and added nine assists, helping the Road Warriors erase a 19-point deficit and secure their third straight win. 

They improved to 3-1 in the conference, while dropping San Miguel to 1-1 as the Beermen failed to build on a slim win against Phoenix in their first assignment.

The Road Warriors trailed by 19, 46-65, in the third quarter after an and-one play by Quincy Miller.

However, NLEX dropped a 23-8 bomb to put themselves back into the game, 69-73, after a layup by Bolick, with less than two minutes to go in the third.

The former point guard of San Beda Red Lion's performance left NLEX head coach Jong Uichico impressed with the skill and dedication he displayed in the game.

Jansen Rios buried a crucial three-pointer in the dying seconds of the game to give Meralco the win against Terrafirma, 96-91, on Friday night, December 6, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The win also lifted the Bolts the share of the lead in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup team standings with NorthPort Batang Pier at 3-0.

It was a grind-out battle in the crucial stage of the game until Rios hit an unmolested triple at the right corner to give the Meralco a 94-91 lead and Chris Newsome sank two free throws after Dyip's erratic plays in the final 9.4 seconds of the game.

The game seemed like it would be a blowout game when the Bolts erected a 67-51 lead in the third quarter but Terrafirma showed resiliency and even tied the game at 91-all with 1:05 left in the fourth and final period.

Meralco coach Luigi Trillo was just glad his team hung on despite blowing a big lead.

Converge FiberXers opened the Philippine Basketball Association Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup curtain with a victory against the Terrafirma Dyip, 116-87, on Wednesday, November 27, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

The much awaited debut of former top overall pick of the special Gilas draft Jordan Heading has come to fruition already.

Heading scored his first basket in the PBA off a tip-in in the 2:52 mark of the first period. He finished with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, four rebounds, and six assists against three turnovers in almost 24 minutes of play.

The stats might not be as high as expected of the Filipino-Australian sweet shooting guard but enough to get the nod of Converge head coach Franco Atienza.

Hong Kong Eastern walloped Phoenix to notch its debut win, 102-87, in the Philippine Basketball Association, or PBA, Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Wednesday, November 27.

HK Eastern showed no jitters right from the start and just took care of business the rest of the way for a 1-0 start, while the Fuel Masters fell to a 0-1 card. 

Familiar faces led the charge for the Hong Kong team with ex-PBA import Cameron Clark and former Bay Area player Hayden Blankley starring on both ends. 

Clark, who has played for San Miguel and NLEX in the past, recorded a double-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Blankley poured in 18 markers, dishing out five dimes and three rejections after making his PBA comeback nearly two years after the Dragons lost to Ginebra in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner's Cup finals.

Converge registered a resounding 116-87 victory over new-look Terrafirma to kick off their Philippine Basketball Association or PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup campaign on Wednesday, November 27, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

The FiberXers delivered 14 three-pointers in the game, including nine in the decisive second half that completely took the fight out of the Dyip. 

Converge established the tone by defeating the Dyip 34-16 in the first period. They also showed composure by overcoming Terrafirma's third quarter storm.

Import Cheick Diallo, who played five seasons in the NBA, had an outstanding debut, dominating the paint with a monster double-double of 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting and 16 rebounds with two assists, a steal, and a block.

“When we got Cheick, we know we are getting a high-motor guy, athletic, can jump out of the gym. What we saw now is what we expected him to play like,” Converge head coach Franco Atienza said.

If Justin Brownlee were to ask, Kai Sotto has the capacity and potential to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

This was what Brownlee said after Gilas Pilipinas’ successful matches against New Zealand and Hong Kong last Thursday and Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

According to the three-time PBA best import, Sotto's performance level in their past games proved that he is capable of competing in the type and class of play in the NBA.

Apart from that, Kai also has a big advantage in having a 7-foot-3 height, and besides this, he has the strong physique and skills of an NBA player.

“Man, I've been saying, I feel like he's good enough to play in the NBA. Yeah, in my honest opinion. Of course, he's got the height, he's got the size and the skill. But he's been through so much,”  Brownlee said. 

The six-time champion also said that Kai Sotto has great potential to be included in the NBA because of the qualities he has seen since he recently played with him. He also said that Kai will go far if he can play in the oldest professional basketball league in the world.

“For me, it's just great to see, you know, a young player like him with so much potential and just to see him start fulfilling his potential. He's got a long way to go. You know, he's only in his early 20s. So, I'm happy for his progression and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him,” Brownlee added. 

It can be recalled that Sotto recorded 12 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks and two assists in Gilas Pilipinas' previous match against Hong Kong, while last Thursday in their match against New Zealand, Sotto recorded 19 markers, 10 boards and seven dimes.

The wins of Gilas in window 2 gave them a solid hold of the lead in Group B with 4-0 win-loss record.

After sweeping the second window of the qualifiers, Gilas is now qualified for the FIBA ​​Asia Cup to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in August next year.

Meanwhile, Gilas will next face Chinese Taipei in the third window of the FIBA ​​Asia Cup Qualifiers on February 20 and Gilas against New Zealand again on February 23.

Quincy Miller has the possibility of playing in the PBA once again, as he is considered by the San Miguel Beermen to be their import in the upcoming Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.

Miller is currently playing for SMB as one of the two reinforcements in the East Asia Super League (EASL) Home and Away Season 2.

San Miguel deputy Peter Martin said that they are considering bringing in the 31-year-old in the mid-season conference to help them defend their title, but there's no assurance yet.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Martin of Miller's status.

In their EASL loss to the Taoyuan Pilots last Wednesday, November 13, at the Philsports Arena, Miller showed brilliance by delivering 32 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

The numbers he provided were far from the first time he suited up for the Beermen when they lost against Suwon KT Sonicboom in the opener of the regional tournament a month ago.

Miller only chipped in eight markers on 2-of-12 shooting from the field during the loss.

And his redeeming performance last Wednesday caught the attention of the San Miguel coaching staff.

The TNT Tropang Giga kept their title as the PBA Governors' Cup champion when they finally ended the series of the Season 49 edition, conquering Barangay Ginebra, 95-85, on Friday night, November 8, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was another sweet victory for TNT as they finished the series once again in six games just like what they did in 2023.

Tropang Giga's hardworking reinforcement Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the squad with 31 big points and defeated Ginebra's resident import Justin Brownlee for the second time around. In fact, Brownlee was 6-0 in the Finals until Hollis-Jefferson came into the picture last year.

RHJ also grabbed 16 rebounds and dished off seven assists during the game.