NLEX secured a twice-to-beat edge for the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals after sending Converge crashing back to earth by way of a 100-81 pummeling on Saturday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Road Warriors regained control of the match late in the third quarter and then pulled away for good in the final frame with some help from their second-unit guys to eventually follow up their stunner of Rain or Shine last Wednesday.
Coach Jong Uichico and his men have solidified their hold of the top spot as well after improving to 9-2, creating separation with the 8-2 Elasto Painters.
The FiberXers, on the other hand, are virtually out of contention as they fell to 4-7, leaving Terrafirma, San Miguel, and Magnolia as the only teams alive in the race–three of their losses also came at the hands of these same three squads.
(C) PBA Images
“We hope this time, we can pull through,” said Uichico, wishing to maximize the win-once incentive after being in a twice-to-win disadvantage during the Season 50 Philippine Cup after losing to top seed and eventual champions Beermen.
Three players finished with at least 20 in the triumph, with Cady Lalanne leading the pack with 22 points, including 11 in the fourth, and 14 rebounds.
Deschon Winston had 21 points behind a 13-of-16 clip from the free throw line, causing major headaches to his former team as he was part of the five on the floor that strung together the breakaway in the deciding period.
Winston was responsible for pushing their lead to eight before the penultimate chapter ended, and then joined hands with Lalanne, Xyrus Torres, and Tony Semerad to increase the spread to 76-58, signalling the start of the rout.
Their lead would reach its highest at 21, 96-75, courtesy of Semerad approaching the last two minutes as the opposition got deflated.
Robert Bolick also had 21 points, alongside three rebounds and five assists, while Semerad chipped in 11 markers, spiked by three triples.
NLEX will look to finish its elimination round campaign on a winning note when it faces the also-ran Titan Ultra on Tuesday, May 5, in the same venue.
(C) PBA Images
Justin Arana, on the other hand, led Converge with 21 points and seven boards, with Archie Concepcion the only other player in double figures with 10 points, as the crew as a whole struggled, especially on defense due to foul trouble.
Coach Delta Pineda & Co. were whistled for 32 fouls, 18 more than their foes had. Thus, the huge disparity on free throws, with NLEX getting 36, as the FiberXers were only awarded a total of nine the entire night.
Converge will look to finish the conference strongly against the eliminated Blackwater on May 9.
The Scores:
NLEX 100 – Lalanne 22, Winston 21, Bolick 21, Semerad 11, Torres 8, Gonzales 4, Racal 4, Rodger 3, Bahio 2, Nieto 2, Gamboa 2, Ramirez 0.
Converge 81 — Arana 21, Concepcion 10, Gomez de Liaño 9, Baltazar 9, Abueva 8, Stockton 6, Smith 6, Policarpio 6, Williams 4, Muyang 2, Garcia 0.
Quarterscores: 23-11, 34-36, 62-54, 100-81.
