MANILA – NLEX Road Warriors flexed their muscles against their former coach Joseller Guiao and defeated Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 96-90, in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Earl Clark showed the way with double-double 26 points and 14 rebounds to go with six blocks, four assists and four steals. Bacolodnon Justin Chua and Kevin Alas added 18 and 15 markers, respectively, while Celedonio Trollano and Matt Nieto had 12 points each for the Road Warriors.
Trailing at the half, the Road Warriors woke up in the third quarter behind inside connections by Clark and outside connections by Alas and Trollano to take a 67-66 lead.
The Road Warriors continued its rampage in the fourth quarter with outside shots from Nieto and Chua and drives by Clark as the lead reached its largest at 91-77 with three minutes left.
Steve Taylor Jr. had double-double 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Rey Nambatac and Mike Nieto had 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Painters, which is now handled by Guiao.
In the first game, Converge FiberXers leaned on a strong third quarter surge to dominate Terrafirma Dyip, 124-110, to give debuting Aldin Ayo a winning coaching debut.
From a 62-all score at the half, the FiberXers went to work in the third quarter behind conversions by Quincy Miller and Maverick Ahanmisi as the lead reached 87-71 following an Allyn Bulanadi basket.
The Dyip rallied to within 92-100 but the FiberXers answered back with a triple from Miller, a layup by Jeron Teng and free throws by Miller as the lead reached its largest at 110-92.
Miller finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal, Ahanmisi chipped in 18 markers, while Justin Arana and RK Ilagan had 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the 1-0 Converge.
BOX SCORE:
NLEX 96 – Clark 26, Chua 18, Alas 15, Trollano 12, Nieto 12, Varilla 4, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Miranda 3, Magat 2, Rosales 0, Fonacier 0, Ighalo 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 90 – Taylor Jr. 21, Nambatac 11, Nieto 10, Caracut 9, Ponferrada 8, Asistio 7, Demusis 6, Belga 5, Ildefonso 4, Santillan 4, Borboran 3, Norwood 2, Mamuyac 0, Torres 0.
Quarterscores: 15-24, 36-42, 67-66, 96-90./PN
