Xyrus Torres nailed the haymaker to help NLEX kill the comeback hopes of Barangay Ginebra, 89-86, for its fourth straight win in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The rookie guard made sure not to waste the save of Javee Mocon, knocking down the go-ahead trifecta from the corner with 48.2 seconds to return the lead to the team for good, 87-86, after squandering a 17-point lead.
But the pressure seemingly caught up to him afterwards when he missed both of his free throws with 11 seconds left. Still, the breaks of the game went in their favor, with Japeth Aguilar failing to secure the miss as the ball sailed outside.
Robert Bolick then made sure to rectify the young ward’s misses, making both of his own charities for the eventual final count with seven ticks to spare.
A missed trey by Scottie Thompson from his sweet spot — the left corner — on the other end was then hauled down by Bolick. And that was enough for NLEX to avert disaster, and more importantly, continue its hot streak in the conference.
(C) PBA Images
“Kailangan mabigyan namin ng kumpiyansa sila, because they’re young,” said head coach Jong Uichico. “Siyempre, the pressure still gets to them, so we should give them the leeway to be able to deal with that pressure.
“And, give them the confidence, which, ‘yun nga, nag-deliver naman si Xyrus. Big three-point shot ‘yun. He was wide open. Buo ang loob. ‘Yun lang naman ang gusto natin eh, buo ang loob mo na tumira,” he added.
Bolick top-scored for NLEX with a game-high 28 points, alongside seven rebounds and four assists as the squad improved to 4-1 in the standings.
Torres finished with 11 points on a 3-of-4 clip from three, three rebounds, and four assists. Kevin Alas added 10 markers, spiked by a pair of treys.
The win, however, proved costly as the Road Warriors lost Brandon Ramirez reportedly due to a dislocated jaw, which he suffered at the 2:59 mark of the final frame and with both teams knotted up at 81-all.
The rookie big man got hurt following an inadvertent hit by Jamie Malonzo and never came back. That cut short what had been a solid night for him as he had 11 points and five rebounds before leaving for the dugout.
NLEX will next face Terrafirma next Wednesday, May 14, still in the same venue, shooting of course to stretch its winning run to five.
Wasted by the comeback that fell short, meanwhile, was the fiery showing of Stephen Holt, who scored 18 of his 21 points in the final frame — behind a quartet of triples — to power the Kings’ furious rally.
He was responsible for giving Ginebra the lead following a split from the line before Thompson added on it to make it an 84-81 count with 1:46 left.
Thompson put the crowd darlings ahead once more when he responded to Bolick’s trifecta with a turnaround jumper for the 86-84 lead with 1:13 left. But that proved to be the last time that they’d be ahead, with Torres stepping up.
“Capable ‘yung Ginebra to come back especially nung tinanggal ni Coach Tim yung first five. It’s a matter of time na ibabalik niya ‘yun eh, and then last hurrah, last bulusok, which was what happened,” Uichico recalled.
“Mabuti naman na na-weather namin ‘yung storm, we stuck together. It’s a good sign that we stuck together, na maghahanap lang kami ng paraan. And we stuck with the game plan,” the champion bench tactician added.
(C) PBA Images
Thompson made 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Malonzo and RJ Abarrientos added 11 markers for Ginebra, which fell to 2-2.
The Kings will aim for a quick rebound when they take on Phoenix on May 16, Friday, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Scores:
NLEX 89 – Bolick 28, Torres 11, Ramirez 11, Alas 10, Mocon 8, Bahio 6, Semerad 6, Fajardo 5, Rodger 2, Policarpio 2, Nieto 0.
Ginebra 86 – Holt 21, Thompson 20, Malonzo 11, Abarrientos 11, Rosario 8, J.Aguilar 7, Adamos 6, Pinto 2, Cu 0, David 0, Mariano 0.
Quarterscores: 13-23, 37-36, 67-53, 89-86.
