NLEX followed its game plan to the letter and the Road Warriors defeated Jumbo Plastic Linoleum, 89-70, on Thursday in the PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup at The Arena in San Juan City.
Garvo Lanete had a game-high 27 points to lead the Road Warriors’ romp of the Giants as they improved their win-loss record to 6-1.
The Road Warriors also snapped the three-game winning streak of the Giants, who absorbed their third loss in 11 matches.
This time, NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez was satisfied with their level of play after barely surviving a scare from Wangs last Tuesday in a game that saw the Road Warriors trail by 10 points in the first half.
“I challenged the boys in yesterday’s practice. The way we played against Wangs is not the way they should be playing,” Fernandez said shortly after beating Giants, the top defensive team in the league based on points allowed.
“It showed in the first and second quarters na Jumbo really played good defense. But in the third, (the players) stepped up their game,” Fernandez noted.
NLEX took control in the latter part of the third quarter with a 20-5 run to erect a 69-49 lead at the end of the period. The Road Warriors led by as many as 25 points in the fourth canto.
Jumbo Plastic, which entered the game giving up only 67 points per outing, managed to close the gap after Elliot Tan buried back-to-back triples, 49-44, before NLEX unleashed its big run.
Ola Adeogun added 14 points while Art Dela Cruz and Matt Ganuelas each scored 10 markers for the Road Warriors.
Tan led the Jumbo Plastic with 17 points.
The scores:
NLEX (89) – Lanete 27, Adeogun 14, Dela Cruz 10, Ganuelas 10, R. Pascual 9, Alas 6, Dela Rosa 3, J. Pascual 3, Long 3, Raymundo 2, K. Pascual 2, Koga 0, Amer 0, Hermida 0.
Jumbo Plastic (70) – Tan 17, Petilos 14, Arboleda 10, Romero 8, Magat 8, Colina 5, Dehesa 3, Ballesteros 2, Chiu 2, Alano 1, Najorda 0, Antipuesto 0, Melegrito 0.
Quarterscores: 26-21; 45-38; 69-49; 89-70.
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