MANILA – NLEX Road Warriors barged into the win column of the 2021 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup after taking down defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 94-75, last night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Kevin Alas sizzled in the second half to lead the Road Warriors (1-1) with 20 points, while Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena dropped 19 points to go with five assists, three steals, and two rebounds.
Celedonio Trollano and Anthony Semerad contributed 11 markers apiece, while JR Quinahan had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds as NLEX bounced back from a heartbreaking 83-82 loss to Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Friday.
NLEX surged to a 9-0 start with early conversions from Ravena and Trollano. As the gap grows to 14, Ginebra went on a second-quarter uprising to post a 35-34 lead. However, baskets from Ravena gave the Road Warriors a 41-35 halftime advantage.
The Road Warriors maintained their scoring outburst in the third quarter with Alas drilling consecutive hits and Quinahan, Michael Miranda, and Ilonggo Jericho Cruz also making baskets to form a 70-50 spread.
The Kings rallied to trim the deficit to 11 points midway in the fourth quarter, but the Road Warriors responded with conversions from Ravena and Alas to increase the advantage to 91-73.
Japeth Aguilar led the way for the Kings with 15 points. Earl Scottie Thompson had 12 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, while LA Tenorio added 11 points.
In the first game, Meralco Bolts averted San Miguel Beermen’s repeated uprising as they cruised to a 93-87 victory and took first place in the standings with a 2-0 win-loss slate.
After seeing their largest lead of 74-59 scraped to 77-79 by a furious Beermen rally, Norman Aaron Black drilled back-to-back three-pointers to widen the Bolts’ lead to 87-77 with over three minutes left.
San Miguel Beer made their last push to come to within 83-88 with over a minute left, but a three-pointer from Chris Newsome and two free throws by Rey Mark Belo secured the win for the Bolts.
Newsome posted 17 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals, while Black chipped in 15 markers for the Bolts. Terrence Romeo led the Beermen with 18 points but exited in the fourth quarter after twisting his ankle.
BOX SCORE:
NLEX 94 – Alas 20, Ravena 19, Trollano 11, Semerad 11, Quinahan 10, Cruz 9, Soyud 7, Miranda 5, Oftana 2, Mcaloney 0, Porter 0.
GINEBRA 75 – J. Aguilar 15, Thompson 12, Tenorio 11, Pringle 8, Standhardinger 8, Caperal 8, Chan 4, Devance 3, Tolentino 2, Ayaay 2, Enriquez 2, Dillinger 0, Salado 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
26-15, 41-35, 72-55, 94-75./PN
