By ADRIAN STEWART CO

NLEX Road Warriors turned things around in the second half to beat Meralco Bolts, 92-81, in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Trailing 39-57 at the half, the Road Warriors slowly clawed their way back in the third quarter behind reinforcement Earl Clark as they trimmed the deficit to 64-71.

Meralco was still ahead at 75-66 in the fourth quarter when NLEX launched a massive run behind Clark and Celedonio Trollano to take an 80-77 edge in a three-point game by Negrense Paul Varilla.

A three-pointer by Michael Miranda and consecutive attacks inside by Clark gave the Road Warriors its largest lead at 90-79 with over a minute left in the game.

Clark, who had stints with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA before, finished with double-double 40 points and 11 rebounds as the Road Warriors kept its quarterfinals hopes alive with a 5-7 slate.

Trollano continued his strong showing for the Road Warriors, while rookie Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser also hit double-digits in offense with 10 markers.

KJ McDaniels tallied 22 points and nine rebounds, while Aaron Black and Allein Maliksi had 17 and 12 points, respectively, as the Bolts dropped to a 4-7 record.

Meralco is in a must-win situation on Friday, December 2, against San Miguel Beermen to at least force a knockout for the eighth and last quarterfinals seat.

NLEX 92 — Clark 40, Trollano 16, Ganuelas-Rosser 10, Chua 6, Alas 6, Rosales 6, Varilla 5, Miranda 3, Nieto 0.

MERALCO 81 — McDaniels 22, Black 17, Maliksi 12, Quinto 8, Hodge 8, Banchero 7, Caram 5, Jose 2, Pascual 0.

Quarterscores: 23-30, 39-57, 64-71, 92-81./ASC, WDJ