By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Anthony Semerad and Kevin Alas took over with clutch conversions as NLEX Road Warriors pulled off a come-from-behind 116-112 win over Converge FiberXers in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday night, February 18.
Down 105-109 with over three minutes left, Alas scored on a layup followed by a three-point play by Semerad to give the Road Warriors a 110-109 lead. Alas then connected on another triple to widen NLEX’s lead to 113-109 with 38.2 seconds left.
The FiberXers managed to trim the deficit to 112-113 on a three-pointer by Jamaal Franklin, but Alas and reinforcement Wayne Selden, Jr. scored three free throws to seal the win for the Road Warriors.
Alas finished the game with a career-high tying 31 points, while Semerad contributed 15 markers as the Road Warriors snapped a two-game losing skid to stay in third spot with a 5-2 win-loss slate.
Selden spearheaded the offense for the Road Warriors with 35 points, eight steals, seven rebounds, six assists, and three blocks, while Aklanon Kris Rosales and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had 17 and 10, respectively.
Franklin ended with 53 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, and four assists but committed 12 turnovers, while Maverick Ahanmisi and Kevin Racal had 22 and 10 markers, respectively, as the FiberXers dropped to 5-2.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters survived the ejection of import Du’vaughn Maxwell to preserve a 125-100 victory over Terrafirma Dyip and snap their two-game losing skid.
The Fuel Masters pulled away for good from the Dyip in the second quarter behind the exploits of Maxwell, Jason Perkins and Javee Mocon after outscoring them, 35-21, en route to a 64-45 halftime lead.
However, Maxwell was sent off with 6:32 left in the third period after he was charged with a Flagrant Foul Penalty 1, which came after he was whistled for a technical foul earlier in the game. Phoenix kept the lead, which went up to as high as 93-62.
Maxwell still ended up as the Fuel Masters’ top scorer with 20 points alongside 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks, while Perkins and Mocon added 14 and 12 markers, respectively.
NLEX 116 — Selden 35, Alas 31, Rosales 17, Semerad 16, Ganuelas-Rosser 10, Doliguez 3, Gabo 2, Trollano 2, Paniamogan 0, Pascual 0.
CONVERGE 112 — Franklin 53, Ahanmisi 22, Racal 10, Arana 8, Teng 7, Tratter 5, Ebona 4, Stockton 2, Balanza 1, Murrell 0.
Quarterscores: 23-28, 48-52, 80-80, 116-112./ASC, WDJ