NLEX took the solo lead in Group A following a convincing 110-96 victory over the erstwhile perfect San Miguel to extend its unbeaten run to four in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
In a game where they showed a bit of everything, the Road Warriors went on a tear in the second chapter, inflated the lead to its biggest at 25 in the third, and then displayed solid poise in the defining chapter to put the Beermen away.
Robert Bolick connected on a four, then came Robbie Herndon with a triple not long after as that 7-0 spurt pushed their lead back to 99-84 with 6:23 to go, and that proved to be enough to restore order after their foes cut the gap to eight.
DeQuan Jones took over afterward to lead the strong closeout as they went on to become the lone team without a loss thus far as the Beermen fell to 3-1.
(C) PBA Images
“Really proud of our guys,” head coach Jimmy Alapag said. “Any time you play San Miguel, with all their championship experience, it’s always a great test for a young team. But I thought we were very resilient, especially in the second half.”
In what’s becoming a trend since switching lead mentors, NLEX leaned on another balanced attack that saw a five finish in double figures
Jones himself led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Deschon Winston finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists as he triggered the 14-0 run in the second chapter for a 44-27 lead that set the tone for the rout.
Tony Semerad had 15 points as his long bombs helped put together the solid finish. Bolick came just short of a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists while Herndon added 13 markers to lead the bench mob.
“I think a lot of what we do starts with Schonny and Berto,” offered Alapag regarding his lead backcourt combination. “I thought their aggressiveness early, again, helped set the tone for our team because they can do so much.
“They can score from the perimeter, they can attack the basket, and so they’ve been great for us so far,” added the former Sacramento Kings player development coach.
(C) PBA Images
George King, on the other hand, led San Miguel with 31 points and eight rebounds in the loss that cut short their bid to win a fourth game in a row.
Don Troillano backed him up with 16 points, 14 of which he made in the second half as he almost single-handedly carried the Beermen back into contention by powering an 18-2 run to cut the gap to just eight twice early in the fourth.
But then, Bolick responded with a long bomb from 27 feet away, and SMB’s rhythm would slowly fizzle out as NLEX pulled away for good.
“Trollano’s one of the best shooters in the league, and he got going,” Alapag said. “But I thought our poise in the second half was great for the young team that we have, and we were able to get stops and score when we needed.”
June Mar Fajardo added 15 points and six rebounds in the defeat that saw limited production from their usual suspects, unlike during their win streak.
The Scores:
NLEX 110 – Jones 27, Winston 24, Semerad 15, Bolick 14, Herndon 13, Valdez 8, Gonzales 7, Bahio 2, Capulong 0, Marcelo 0, Racal 0, Alas 0.
San Miguel 96 – King 31, Trollano 16, Fajardo 15, Perez 7, Brondial 6, Hernandez 6, Tautuaa 5, Lassiter 5, Cruz 3, Ahanmisi 2, Ross 0, Cahilig 0.
Quarterscores: 30-21, 64-46, 90-71, 110-96.
