NLEX sealed its place in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinals after dismantling also-ran Northport, 109-95, Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Road Warriors (6-5) have clinched the sixth seed and will face either Ginebra or Magnolia in the first round of the playoffs.
“We were making sure na nandoon ‘yung intensity at aggressiveness namin lalo sa defense, may tendency kasi na magrelax pa kami lalo pag may malaking leads,” said NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao.
“Itong game kasi na ito this will assure us a sixth-place finish that will keep us from seven or eight na mahirap na maglaro ng malakas na team,” he added, referring to the twice-to-win handicap of the bottom two quarterfinalists.
NLEX drained 11 three-pointers in the first half to establish a dominant 18-point lead at the break, 57-39.
Raul Soyud posted a conference-high 19 points for the Road Warriors, making all but one of his 10 attempts, to go with six rebounds.
Calvin Oftana had 18 points, founded on five triples, while Don Trollano chipped in 16 as well.
Philip Paniamogan did it all with 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals, while Anthony Semerad also got 15 points along with seven rebounds.
The Batang Pier ended the 47th season’s first conference at 3-8, good for just 10th place.
Northport was led by JM Calma’s 21 points and nine rebounds, while Kevin Ferrer tallied 16 points.
Roi Sumang had a near triple-double of 12 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds for the Batang Pier who missed Robert Bolick and Jamie Malonzo due to health and safety protocols.
Meanwhile, NLEX rested Kevin Alas and JR Quiñahan.
The Scores:
NLEX 109 – Soyud 19, Oftana 18, Trollano 16, Paniamogan 15, Semerad 15, Chua 9, Miranda 8, Fonacier 4, Varilla 3, Nieto 2, Ighalo 0
Northport 95 – Calma 21, Ferrer 16, Sumang 12, Ayaay 11, Vigil 10, Balanza 8, Dela Cruz 7, Santos 4, Subido 3, Javier 3
Quarterscores: 28-16, 57-39, 83-66, 109-95
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
