ANTIPOLO – NLEX came back from 19 points down and left the debuting San Miguel frustrated in overtime, 116-113, for its first win of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Wednesday night at the Ynares Center here.
Kris Rosales caught fire from beyond the arc late in the fourth to send the game into an extra period, before hustle plays on both ends by Kevin Alas in the waning seconds enabled the Road Warriors to finish the spirited rally.
Rosales finished with 19 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter alone, while Alas delivered 18 points as NLEX evened its record to 1-1.
“My team showed a lot of character tonight. They were very patient even if San Miguel was up by 19 points,” said head coach Frankie Lim.
Thomas Robinson top-scored for the Road Warriors with a game-high 42 points on a 48-percent shooting clip, alongside 20 rebounds and five assists as he came in armed with an extra push against his supposed team last season.
The former NBA cager was actually the one who carried the fight for his team during the middle quarters, scoring 13 in the second period before making 10 in the ensuing period to help trim the gap to eight approaching the fourth.
They even got within just two, 82-80, behind a Rosales trey but SMB appeared to have the game in control when Terrence Romeo sparked an 11-1 run to re-establish their double-digit lead, 93-83, with 7:47 to go.
NLEX, though, kept on chipping away. Down by seven points with 2:16 on the clock, Rosales went on a hot streak and nailed three consecutive three-pointers to tie the game up at 105-all with 9.3 seconds remaining.
The Beermen had a chance to generate the potential game-winning bucket on the other end, but Romeo’s lay-up off a cut only hit the sideboard.
San Miguel still had the opportunity to prevent a collapse when CJ Perez tied it up at 113-all in OT but Rodney Brondial’s foul on a shooting Tony Semerad proved costly. Semerad went 2-of-3 to give themselves the 115-113 lead.
Both teams exchanged turnovers in a wild sequence shortly after that also melted the clock but the Road Warriors won the possession, leaving Chris Ross with no choice but to foul Alas and send him to the line.
Alas missed his second free throw but was able to grab the rebounds over Simon Enciso, and eventually made it a two-possession lead following another split from the line with only 6.2 seconds left to play, sealing the deal.
“I think my teammates, the coaches, we were down by 19 and we just kept chipping away, we just kept playing hard one possession at a time and I think it showed our character,” lauded Rosales of his teammates.
Wasted by the loss, on the other hand, was Romeo’s classic performance to the tune of 28 points and six assists to lead San Miguel.
Perez had 25 points. June Mar Fajardo made 22 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block as he bucked foul trouble.
Import Ivan Aska made 21 points and nine rebounds in his PBA debut although he wasn’t able to finish after fouling out still with 6:28 to go in the fourth.
The Scores:
NLEX 117 – Robinson 42, Rosales 19, Alas 18, Rodger 9, Anthony 8, Herndon 8, Nieto 4, Trollano 4, Semerad 4, Marcelo 1, Fajardo 0, Miranda 0.
San Miguel 113 – Romeo 28, Perez 25, Aska 21, Fajardo 22, Ross 6, Enciso 5, Teng 2, Tautuaa 2, Brondial 2, Tautuaa 2, Bulanadi 0.
Quarterscores: 24-27, 47-62, 74-82, 105-105, 117-113 (OT).
