If there’s one team who could be sharp come the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup, it has to be NLEX.
The Road Warriors have already started gearing up for the season-ending joust the moment they went 2-7 in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup by replacing Tony Mitchell with their resident Governors’ Cup reinforcement Olu Ashaolu.
With the 6-foot-5 Ashaolu in tow, NLEX has been able to rack up two more victories, including a tight 87-85 win over the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters Friday night to conclude their campaign in the mid-season conference.
For Ashaolu, the win is a good morale-booster for the Road Warriors heading into the third conference.
“We didn’t have a great conference.
“But we ended on a high note. And we can take that to the next conference and build from there,” said the Nigerian-Canadian cager, who led NLEX in the win with 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Good things are actually in store for the MVP Group-owned team come the next contest. Aside from being well-prepared, they will finally have Kiefer Ravena back from an 18-month suspension by FIBA for violating anti-drug policies.
Moreover, there is a possibility that they will welcome Kevin Alas back into the fold — the Road Warriors have been missing the five-year court general out of Letran badly since February of this year as he hurt his ACL anew.
“Well, it’s really just trying to blend in Kiefer again. And Kevin, hopefully, can come in mid-conference,” said NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao.
Those things are truly a welcome development for the Road Warriors. And given such, a thrilled Ashaolu said that he doesn’t find any reason for his team to not be competitive in the conference being lorded over by Magnolia Hotshots.
“I think that there’s no excuse for us to not be competitive next conference.”
