By ADRIAN STEWART CO
NLEX Road Warriors relied on a strong first half avalanche before holding off Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ second half rally for a 110-99 win in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday night, February 25.
Kevin Alas spearheaded the offense with 28 points, including four outside conversions, to go with three rebounds and an assist as the Road Warriors secured a playoff seat after improving to a 6-3 win-loss slate.
Reinforcement Wayne Selden, Jr. chipped in double-double 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Celedonio Trollano contributed 20 markers for NLEX, which were missing several key players in Sean Anthony, Anthony Semerad and JR Quinahan.
The Road Warriors caught fire early behind Trollano, Alas and Michael Miranda for a 33-13 lead before widening it to its largest of 56-27 late in the second quarter via an Alas conversion.
The Painters slowly chopped the Road Warriors’ deficit in the second half until they came closest at 97-104, but NLEX got an inside hit from Selden and back-to-back layups from Alas to preserve the victory.
Rey Nambatac finished with 26 points, including four three-pointers, Gabe Norwood added 13 markers, while Nicholas Demusis and Leonard Santillan had 12 and 11, respectively, as the Painters dropped to 2-6.
In the first game, Kevin Murphy came up with huge baskets in the endgame as NorthPort Batang Pier cruised to its second straight win with a 110-104 victory over Blackwater Bossing. The Batang Pier rises to 2-6, while the Bossing drops to 1-9.
With the score tied at 100-all, Murphy scored on a go-ahead basket followed by a three-point play to give the Batang Pier a 105-101 lead. Robert Bolick, Jr. then extended the lead to 108-101 with a three-pointer.
The Bossing threatened to get within 104-108 after a long three-pointer from Jvee Casio, but they could not come any closer as Bolick swished two free throws to seal the win for the Batang Pier.
Murphy finished with 47 points, 16 rebounds, four steals, and three assists, Bolick chipped in 24 markers, while rookie center John Michael Calma contributed 10 markers for the Batang Pier.
NLEX 110 — Alas 28, Selden 21, Trollano 20, Miranda 8, Doliguez 8, Rosales 8, Ganuelas-Rosser 7, Nieto 6, Pascual 4.
RAIN OR SHINE 99 — Nambatac 26, Norwood 13, Demusis 12, Santillan 8, Mamuyac 7, Ildefonso 7, Borboran 7, Caracut 5, Belga 4, Smith 3, Yap 3, Ponferrada 2, Asistio 0, Clarito 0.
Quarterscores: 33-13, 62-35, 80-66, 110-99./ASC, WDJ