NLEX showed composure in the fourth quarter to stop TNT from its tracks by way of an 88-83 decision to complete a first-round sweep of Group A in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Wednesday night.
The Road Warriors lost a lead as big as 17 and even let the Tropang 5G to tie the game at 74-all with 7:03 remaining, but the heartbreak they suffered not so long ago apparently fueled the locals to end the game in their favor this time.
L-Jay Gonzales broke the deadlock with a basket to conclude the transition, before import DeQuan Jones and Tony Semerad came in to build the lead back to seven points, 85-78, approaching the final three minutes of the ball game.
That effectively restored order, with Coach Jimmy Alapag’s charges buckling down on defense to deny the defending champions from mounting another comeback on the way to going 6-0—and earning some measure of payback.
(C) PBA Images
It could be recalled that the twice-to-beat NLEX got beaten twice by its sister team during the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals, foiling their bid to reach the semis for the first time since Yeng Guiao’s time as coach.
Now, they got revenge with the help of, ironically, one of the Tropang 5G’s greatest players in Alapag, in a rousing end to the first half of the pool stage.
“Proud of our guys. It’s not easy to win six in a row in the PBA,” said the 48-year-old, who became the first-ever rookie head coach to go on a 6-0 start in his first conference, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.
Jones led NLEX with 27 points and seven rebounds. Gonzales finished with 11 points off the bench while Robert Bolick added a 10-5-5 stat line.
Deschon Winston, JB Bahio, and Enoch Valdez all added nine apiece as the opposing defense limited their production, although they still managed to find ways to eke out the victory en route to extending a franchise-best start.
Winston himself came up big on the defensive end when he stripped the ball away cleanly from counterpart Kim Aurin at a time that their foes were attempting to equalize, as the Tropa were staring at an 87-83 deficit.
“The credit goes to DeQuan and the rest of our guys for continuing to weather whatever challenges we faced so far this early in the conference,” Alapag said. “At the same time, we understand that there’s still so much work to be done.”
NLEX will begin its second round against Terrafirma this Friday before battling TNT again next Tuesday, August 11. Both games are still at Ninoy Aquino.
(C) PBA Images
Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, on the other hand, had 22 points, albeit on 25 shots, 10 rebounds, and five assists to lead the Tropang 5G, whose bid to win a third consecutive game after beating Converge and San Miguel Beer got denied.
Rey Nambatac, Glenn Khobuntin, and Brandon Rosser added 13 apiece for the flagship MVP franchise, which fell to 3-3 following the defeat.
TNT will have the chance to bounce back quickly against the 2-5 Titan Ultra this Saturday, August 8, at the Ynares Center II in Montalban, Rizal.
The Scores:
NLEX 88 – Jones 27, Gonzales 11, Bolick 10, Winston 9, Bahio 9, Valdez 9, Alas 5, Gamboa 4, Semerad 3, Racal 1, Nelle 0, Capulong 0.
TNT 83 – Hollis-Jefferson 22, Nambatac 13, Khobuntin 13, Ganuelas-Rosser 13, Aurin 9, Enciso 6, Ferrer 3, Erram 3, Varilla 2, Quitevis 0, Jalalon 0.
Quarterscores: 26-18, 56-41, 70-65, 88-83.
