As the joust for positioning in the standings starting to take place, the NLEX Road Warriors move up with a crucial 88-85 win over the Star Hotshots to cap a grueling PBA Friday doubleheader at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Henry Walker provided another all-around performance to give his team its second win in five outings, tallying 32 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and five three-pointers. For him, the team must start piling up the wins and play more team basketball just like this game.
“It was a tough game. Star are champions, we knew they were not gonna shake. We just got to do what we got to do,” he said. “It’s a lot of stress right now, it’s do-or-die.”
“We just got to get it by any means so I also try to mix my game up.”
NLEX used a big 10-4 run to shatter the 75-all deadlock in the fourth period to carry their team to the win. The Hotshots’ new import Joel Wright tried to lift his team with back-to-back hits inside to trim the deficit to a single possession lead.
Star had two chances down the stretch due to four misses from the foul stripe by NLEX in the last minute. However, big defensive stops by NLEX clogged the defense against Wright, forcing a jumpball that went the way of the Road Warriors. Despite missing free throws late, a last stop by NLEX led to a tough corner heave by Mark Barroca that sealed the victory.
The Road Warriors splashed 11-of-37 three-pointers, majority of which came to halt Star’s rally down the stretch. The Hotshots shot a more decent 44 percent clip compared to NLEX’s 38 percent, but the Road Warriors took care of the ball better committing less errors, 13-19.
Star’s new reinforcement tallied 28 points, 15 rebounds on 12-for-21 shooting. Mark Pingris scored 14 off the bench in the loss, with 13 boards and a steal.
NLEX (2-3) will go up against the Mahindra Enforcers (4-1) up next on Wednesday at the Big Dome, while Star (1-4) looks to find their groove in Panabo, Davao with a showdown against the Alaska Aces (1-3).
The Scores:
NLEX (88) – Walker 32, Lanete 15, Villanueva J. 10, Taulava 10, Alas 7, Anthony 6, Khobuntin 4, Soyud 2, Akl 2, Villanueva E. 0
Star (85) – Wright 24, Barroca 15, Pingris 14, Yap 8, Melton 8, Sangalang 4, Simon 4, Pascual 2, Maliksi 2, Garcia 0, Mallari 0, Reavis 0
Quarterscores: 29-22, 42-39, 65-60, 88-85
