MANILA – NLEX Road Warriors bolstered its quarterfinals bid in the PBA Governors’ Cup after tallying a dominant 104-79 victory over Phoenix Fuel Masters last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
DeQuan Jones finished with 27 points to lead the Road Warriors, which moved up to 4-5 win-loss slate for fourth place in Group B, ahead of the No. 5 ranked Blackwater Bossing (3-5).
Robert Bolick Jr. also made his presence felt with 19 markers, while Baser Amer and Enoch Valdez contributed 14 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Road Warriors.
The Road Warriors made their presence felt early as they jumped to a 30-17 first-quarter lead before widening it to as many as 33 points in the second half.
Sean Manganti top-scored for the Fuel Masters with 13 points, while Tyler Tio, Jason Perkins, and Negrense Raul Soyud had 12, 11, and 10, respectively, as they dropped to a 1-9 record.
On Thursday night, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters finally snapped their lengthy losing run against San Miguel Beermen with a 122-112 victory and avenge their first-round defeat.
Beau Belga finished with a conference-high of 16 points to go with five assists and four rebounds as the Painters took the solo first place in Group B standings with a 7-2 win-loss slate.
Aside from his efficient offense, Belga also played a pivotal role in defending Beermen star center June Mar Fajardo, who was held to a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“Nagtulungan lang kami sa depensa, June Mar is really handful for us, but we did a great job of just putting a body on June Mar, nandito si Beau pinagtulungan nila ‘yung role na ‘yun,” said Painters head coach Joseller “Yeng” Guiao.
Andrei Caracut top-scored for the Painters with 20 points, Aaron Fuller had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Gian Mamuyac and Gabe Norwood ended with 12 and 10, respectively, as they snapped a 12-game losing skid against the SMB./PN
BOX SCORE:
NLEX 104 – Jones 27, Bolick 19, Amer 14, Valdez 10, Policarpio 8, Nermal 8, Torres 5, Fajardo 4, Herndon 3, Mocon 2, Nieto 2, Semerad 2, Anthony 0, Miranda 0, Marcelo 0, Rodger 0.
PHOENIX 79 – Manganti 13, Tio 12, Perkins 11, Soyud 10, Rivero 7, Alejandro 7, Jazul 7, Francis 4, Muyang 3, Ballungay 3, Salado 2, Verano 0, Tuffin 0, Garcia 0, Daves 0, Ular 0.
Quarterscores : 30-17, 54-37, 83-55, 104-79.
