JALEN ANDREAS HUDSON scored a game-high 56 points as TNT Tropang Giga sent Converge crashing back to earth, 128-122, on Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Hudson went 21 of 31 from the field—including six three pointers—and hauled down 12 rebounds and dished out four assists to lead the Tropang Giga in halting the FiberXers’ four-game winning streak.
The loss also put to naught Converge import Jamaal Franklin’s 47-point outburst.
“I just try to be aggressive and my teammates give me the confidence—and that’s it,” said Hudson, who posted double-digit scores in each quarter—20, 13, 11, 12. “I know we were playing a tough team so we kept our aggression.”
The Tropang Giga trailed by one, 93-94, entering the fourth quarter but Mikey Williams also erupted with 11 of his 19 points as TNT outscored Converge, 35-28, in that period.
“The players fought for every point. It may not have been indicated in the score but every point, they earned it,” TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa said. “They really fought hard and stopped their transition.”
Hudson already had 44 points after three quarters and his three-point play in the last 56 seconds gave TNT a 124-115 lead to seal the win.
Roger Pogoy had 18 points and Paul Varilla added 12 points for TNT, which improved to 4-1 won-lost.
Franklin also had 14 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for Converge which dropped to 4-1.
Image credits: PBA Image