By Adrian Stewart Co
NLEX Road Warriors got timely baskets from Kevin Alas and Celedonio Trollano to defeat Meralco Bolts, 90-75, in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup on Saturday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
After seeing their double-digit lead trimmed to 64-65 by a furious fourth quarter start by the Bolts, Alas converted a triple, while Trollano had a layup to widen Road Warriors’ lead to 70-64.
The Bolts cut it to 67-70 but a layup and three free throws by Alas and a three-pointer from Trollano increased the Road Warriors advantage to 78-67 midway in the quarter.
Trollano went on with his offense as he scored a layup and four free throws as the Road Warriors surged to its largest advantage of 87-71 via a triple by JR Quiñahan.
Trollano finished the game with 19 points, 11 came in the fourth quarter, while Alas contributed 14 markers as the Road Warriors recorded its third win in five games.
Quiñahan contributed 16 points, Bacolodnon Justin Chua had double-double 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Calvin Oftana chipped in 12 markers for the Road Warriors.
Chris Newsome top-scored with 17 points, while Bacolonon big man Reynel Hugnatan added 10 markers as the Bolts slumped to 3-2 win-loss slate.
Meanwhile, Blackwater Bossing recorded its third victory in four matches following a 107-70 rout of Terrafirma Dyip, which remained winless in five games.
From a seesaw battle in the opening quarter, the Bossing went on a massive run in the second quarter behind Renato Ular, Yousef Taha and Rey Suerte to build a 54-38 halftime lead.
Blackwater went on with its rampage in the second half with inside hits from Ular and fellow rookie Mark Dyke as the lead reached its largest at 37 points.
Ular top-scored with career-high 16 points, Jvee Casio added 14 markers, while Taha ended up with double-double 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Bossing.
BOX SCORE:
NLEX 90 – Trollano 19, Quinahan 16, Chua 15, Alas 14, Oftana 12, Rosales 5, Miranda 4, Ighalo 3, Soyud 2, Paniamogan 0, Semerad 0.
MERALCO 75 – Newsome 17, Hugnatan 10, Black 9, Hodge 7, Maliksi 7, Caram 7, Jose 6, Banchero 5, Quinto 4, Pasaol 3, Belo 0, Baclao 0.
Quarterscores: 23-25, 47-42, 65-58, 90-75/WDJ
