KJ McDaniels scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as NLEX beat San Miguel, 114-102, on Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena to spoil the Beermen debut of Vic Manuel and Simon Enciso in the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup.
The Road Warriors also drew solid performances from the locals, overcoming an 11-point second-quarter deficit to pick up the win on opening night.
San Miguel lost in the first game since giving up Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot in two separate deals to acquire Enciso and Manuel during the break. Manuel had 17 points and seven rebounds, while Enciso was held to two points.

NLEX, which wore non-traditional dark yellow jerseys for their conference debut, grabbed a 52-49 lead at the half after falling behind, 39-28, before pulling away in the third behind an 11-0 blast that brought the lead to 77-64.
The Road Warriors shot 16-of-39 from three-point distance for a 41 percent clip and capitalized on the shooting struggles of the Beermen, who only went 3 of 21 from behind the arc.
Chris Ross out
San Miguel also played without Chris Ross in its first game since shipping out Santos and Cabagnot, meaning only two of the Beermen's 'Death Five' were in the match.
“This is probably the best time to play San Miguel,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao. “They haven’t fully gelled yet. I feel like they are still making adjustments. Malaking bagay si Arwind na wala sa kanila. Malaking bagay si Alex Cabagnot. And then Chris Ross is not with them. We are very lucky we played them in this situation.”
Kevin Alas and Don Trollano led the NLEX locals' attack with 12 points respectively, while Philip Paniamogan had 11 points and Jericho Cruz and JR Quinahan added 10 apiece.
Even NLEX new guys Kris Rosales and Marion Magat got in the scoring act, contributing nine and eight apiece for the Road Warriors.
Brandon Brown had 36 points and 10 rebounds in a losing cause for the Beermen, who even trailed by 19 points, 107-88, after 11 unanswered points by NLEX.
The scores:
NLEX 114 – McDaniels 27, Alas 12, Trollano 12, Paniamogan 11, Quinahan 10, Cruz 10, Rosales 9, Magat 8, Oftana 7, Semerad 5, Miranda 3.
San Miguel 102 – Brown 36, Fajardo 20, Manuel 17, Perez 11, Lassiter 7, Romeo 6, Enciso 2, Tautuaa 2, Pessumal 1.
Quarters: 22-28; 52-49; 86-77; 114-102.
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