BIÑAN, Laguna – NLEX Road Warriors got its acts going in the overtime period as it subdued Phoenix Fuel Masters, 120-115, in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Alonte Sports Arena here.
Arnett Moultrie had an all-around game of 37 points, 17 boards, eight assists and four blocks.
JR Quinahan chipped in 16 markers while Alex Mallari and Larry Fonacier had 13 and 11 points.
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings got a huge lift from returning Gregory Slaughter. It hacked out a 105-91 victory over Blackwater Elite for its first victory in three matches in the conference.
The Road Warriors seemed headed for an easy victory after leading by as much as 19 points on inside plays by Moultrie but the Fuel Masters clawed its way back to force an overtime on timely baskets from rookie Jason Perkins.
Mallari and Fonacier took turns on the offensive end for the Road Warriors to surge to a 118-110 lead.
The Fuel Masters made its last push but free throws by Quinahan sealed the win for the Warriors.
“We needed this win badly. It’s like we’re starting to learn how to win again,” said Road Warriors head coach Yeng Guiao. “We had a good lead almost throughout the game but we lost it in the last four, three minutes. That’s disappointing but a win is still a win.”
Matthew Wright led the way with 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while reinforcement James White added double-double 19 points and 11 boards for the Fuel Masters (2-2).
The Kings, meanwhile, broke away from a close first quarter on three-point conversions by Kevin Ferrer and inside baskets from Slaughter and import Charles Garcia to build a 64-41 halftime lead.
The Elite tried to rally back in the second half but outside shots from Ferrer and Solomon Mercado pushed the Kings to build its largest lead of the match at 103-77 on back-to-back triples by LA Tenorio.
Ferrer led the way with conference-high 21 points, including five three-point conversions.
Garcia added 18 markers while Japeth Aguilar and Slaughter had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
BOX SCORE:
NLEX 120 – Moultrie 37, Qui?ahan 16, Mallari 13, Fonacier 11, Ravena 9, Miranda 8, Baguio 7, Soyud 7, Tiongson 5, Rios 4, Monfort 3, Ighalo 0.
PHOENIX 115 – Wright 31, White 18, Chan 17, Perkins 15, Revilla 9, Mendoza 8, Jazul 8, Kramer 4, Eriobu 2, Chua 2, Alolino 0, Wilson 0, Intal 0.
Quarterscores: 28-25, 57-43, 78-72, 104-104, 120-115 (OT)./PN
