Needing a win so that they could stay longer in Macau, the NLEX Road Warriors did not let up even when they faced a huge deficit, stunning the CBA club team Xinjiang Flying Tigers, 88-78, Thursday evening at the East Asian Games Dome.
JR Quinahan proved to be the catalyst in NLEX’s comeback, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the final frame, spiked by four triples.
The Flying Tigers had firm control in the second frame, leading by as much as 17 points, 45-28.
The Road Warriors then came out of the third frame with guns blazing. NLEX scored 31 points in the third canto, while limiting Xinjiang to just 10.
Kenneth Ighalo continued his surprising campaign by scoring 17 markers this time around.
Behind Quinahan and Mac Tallo, NLEX were able to sustain their momentum to close out the game.
The Cebuano rookie chipped in 12 markers, all in the second half.
Sun Tonglin led the China-based squad with 16 markers to go along with seven assists and five rebounds.
The Road Warriors will take on the top team in Group A in a win-or-go-home semis clash.
The Scores:
NLEX 88 – Quinahan 18, Ighalo 17, Tallo 12, Rios 8, Taulava 8, Miranda 6, Monfort 5, Soyud 5, Marcelo 4, Buenafe 3, Tiongson 2, Baguio 0.
Xinjiang 78 – Sun 16, Liu 13, Tang 11, Wang 11, Jiang 10, Deng 8, Hou 4, Pai 3, Han 2.
Quarterscores: 20-20, 33-49, 64-59, 88-78.
