MANILA – Aaron Fuller made a triumphant return as NLEX Road Warriors cruised to a 116-104 victory over Columbian Dyip in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fuller, who substituted the injured Oluseyi Ashaolu, finished with near triple-double 35 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists for NLEX (3-1) as they bounced back from their first loss.
Larry Fonacier and Kenneth Ighalo added 17 and 15 points, respectively, while JR Quiñahan and Pedrito Galanza had 10 points each for the Road Warriors.
Alaska Aces, on the other hand, recovered from a slow start as it staved off Phoenix Fuel Masters 108-97 to stretch to three its winning record in the season-ending conference.
From a toe-to-toe encounter in the first three quarters, NLEX was able to pull away early in the fourth frame 102-89 on consecutive inside conversions from Fuller and Alex Mallari.
Dyip came up with its last push, rallying to within 5 points but the Road Warriors pulled away anew on triples by Quiñahan and Fonacier for a 12-point spread with under a minute to play.
“We knew coming in that Columbian is no pushover so we told the team that we need to earn this win tonight,” said NLEX assistant coach Jojo Lastimosa. “And for some reason we were able to defend well so it was a great second half.”
Akeem Wright led the way with double-double 37 points and 17 rebounds, while Jerramy King and Glenn Khobuntin had 22 and 10 markers, respectively, for the still win-less Dyip.
In the second game, after being down by as much as 11 points in the first half, the Aces clawed their way back in the third period behind Mike Harris, Siverino Baclao, Simon Enciso, and Chris Banchero to take an 83-78 lead.
The Fuel Masters came to as close as 2 points in the fourth but Alaska managed to pull away anew on hits by Baclao, Banchero, Elvin Jake Pascual, and Enciso for its largest lead in the game 97-85.
Harris finished the match with double-double 23 points and 11 rebounds while Banchero and Enciso had 19 and 18, respectively, for the Aces. Eugene Phelps had 27 points and 24 rebounds for Phoenix (2-1)./PN
