ANTIPOLO — Aaron Fuller rose to the occasion late in regulation and in overtime as NLEX pulled off a 116-110 win over Alaska in overtime to revive its playoff bid in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Center.
The do-it-all import hit the basket that forced tied the score with two seconds left in regulation then carried over the momentum to the extra period, where his clutch shots enabled the Road Warriors to snap out of a three-game losing skid.
Fuller finished with 42 points and 22 rebounds as NLEX improved to 5-5 (win-loss), putting the team in a good position to gun for a place in the quarterfinals.
“Aaron Fuller just carried us on his shoulders tonight,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.
The NLEX import opened the extra period with a three-point play, which was followed by a triple by JR Quinahan for a 105-101 NLEX lead.
Quinahan, atoning for his turnover late in regulation, hit another trey to wrest the lead back for NLEX, 112-110, before hitting two free throws after a JVee Casio miss.
The Aces could have secured a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals had they won. At 7-3, the team may need to win one of its last two games.
Quinahan finished with 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point distance to back up Fuller while Michael Miranda and Philip Paniamogan had 10 points each.
Mike Harris had 35 points and 26 rebounds while Vic Manuel added 22 points for the Aces.
The scores:
NLEX 116 – Fuller 42, Quinahan 15, Miranda 10, Paniamogan 10, Galanza 8, Ighalo 8, Tallo 7, Baguio 7, Tiongson 3, Rios 2, Soyud 2, Fonacier 2, Taulava 0.
Alaska 110 – Harris 35, Manuel 22, Casio 16, Enciso 10, Banchero 9, Teng 6, Racal 6, Baclao 4, Thoss 2, J. Pascual 0, Exciminiano 0.
Quarters: 19-20; 53-43; 77-77; 99-99; 116-110.
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