NLEX made sure to send off KJ McDaniels on a winning note as it took down Barangay Ginebra, 115-103, to secure a Top Four finish in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup, Friday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The NBA veteran did power the Road Warriors’ third quarter turnaround that saw him pour 10 of his 26 points, but the tested trio of Kevin Alas, Kris Rosales, and Don Trollano plus new guy Justin Chua took them home.
NLEX concluded its elimination round campaign with an 8-3 record, and more importantly became the second team next to Magnolia to earn a coveted twice-to-beat advantage for the quarterfinals two weeks from now.
Head coach Yeng Guiao would definitely want McDaniels to stay for the playoffs but understands that family comes first.
“If there’s anything that can convince KJ to stay, we would do it but his family is really first priority,” said the champion mentor. “He wants to be at the bedside when his girlfriend gives birth so we cannot take that away from him.”
The 29-year-old, who also collected 10 rebounds in the win, was without a doubt huge in their success thus far this conference. And the locals showed their appreciation by giving him the farewell he deserves.
Alas finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and eight rebounds. Rosales supplied 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, as Trollano added 14. Chua produced 15 points, as JR Quinahan added 10 in their fourth win in a row.
The Road Warriors actually trailed by 15 early in the match but found their groove in the second period. McDaniels and Co. then buckled down to work in the second half and even led 87-77 with 11:05 to go in the fourth.
Ginebra, though, trimmed the gap to just three and tried to keep as close as it can be. But Alas, Rosales, and Chua joined hands to bring the lead back to 10, 109-99, with less than four minutes remaining.
NLEX then kept the defending champions at bay the rest of the way, with McDaniels fittingly scoring his side’s last bucket emphatically with an alley-oop jam off an Alas lob with 11 seconds left to play.
“Our locals are playing well also. Aside from KJ giving us a lift, our locals are playing well,” lauded Guiao.
Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in the defeat that snapped the team’s two-game winning streak.
The Barangay fell to 5-5 and are presently tied at seventh with Phoenix. They play Rain or Shine on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. for their last eliminations game.
The Scores:
NLEX 115 – McDaniels 26, Alas 18, Rosales 17, Chua 15, Trollano 14, Quinahan 10, Nieto 5, Murrell 4, Paniamogan 3, Ighalo 3, Soyud 0.
Ginebra 103 – Brownlee 36, Standhardinger 16, Aguilar 15, Thompson 14, J. Tenorio 9, Chan 7, Onwubere 2, Tolentino 2, Pinto 2, R. Aguilar 0.
Quarterscores: 21-33, 53-58, 83-77, 115-103.
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