NLEX clinched the No. 1 spot following a 123-112 overtime win over Titan Ultra for a rousing conclusion to its PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup elimination round campaign at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Tuesday evening.
The Road Warriors overcame a deficit as big as 14 points, but needed five more minutes to completely get rid of the Giant Risers toward ending the preliminaries with a 10-2 record, securing as well a win-once quarterfinal incentive.
Tony Semerad broke the 107-all tie with a split, Cady Lalanne added more to the lead, then came Robert Bolick and Deschon Winston for the pullaway on their way to finishing the preliminaries with four straight wins.
It’s also the first time since the 2019 Governors’ Cup that the MVP franchise ended the eliminations on top, yet head coach Jong Uichico chooses to stay grounded, saying that they have accomplished nothing at this point.
(C) PBA Images
“Eliminations pa lang ‘to. In the last two conferences, we were also in the Top Four. We’re just no. 1 in the eliminations. It’s something to be happy about, but it’s nothing to be satisfied about,” the champion bench tactician said.
Lalanne and Bolick starred in the triumph together, with the Haitian big man finishing with 29 points and 20 rebounds, which he laced with two blocks.
The star guard, on the other hand, registered a triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, and added a pair of blocked shots as well.
Winston finished with 24 points as the troika carried much of the load for NLEX offensively–the very reasons why the team managed to buck a tepid start.
“Sana maging eye-opener ‘to,” said Bolick as he rued another bad game from his team despite the win. “Halos lahat ng games namin, laging ganun eh. Baka pagdating sa dulo, hindi papabor sa amin. Dapat, may standard kami.”
The elimination round will run until May 10, and NLEX will be closely monitoring the other games to see who finishes as the eighth-seeded team.
(C) PBA Images
Michael Gilmore, on the other hand, had 25 points and 18 rebounds plus five assists for the Giant Risers, who have now lost their sixth straight.
Gilmore actually had a chance to at least put them ahead late in regulation after getting sent to the free-throw line, but only managed to split his shots.
Joshua Munzon backed him up with 19 points, albeit on 6-of-23 shooting from the floor, including a botched layup late in regulation as well, which could’ve gotten them the lead. He also had eight rebounds and seven assists.
Jerrick Balanza had 12 points while Jerrick Balanza added 10 for Titan Ultra, who will finish its elimination round run against Rain or Shine on May 8.
The Scores:
NLEX 123 – Lalanne 29, Bolick 25, Winston 24, Bahio 8, Gonzales 7, Capulong 6, Semerad 6, Torres 5, Racal 3, Herndon 2, Rodger 2, Valdez 2, Ramirez 2, Gamboa 2, Nieto 0, Fajardo 0.
Titan Ultra 112 – Gilmore 25, Munzon 19, Balanza 12, Flores 10, Melecio 9, Sajonia 8, Yu 7, Caralipio 7, Ambohot 5, Ular 4, Dionisio 4, Javillonar 2, Pessumal 0, Sangco 0, Omega 0.
Quarterscores: 25-24, 50-59, 86-82, 107-107, 123-112.
