NLEX began the Jong Uichico era on an auspicious note, defeating Blackwater, 104-87, on Thursday in the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Myke Henry set the tone for the Road Warriors, Robert Bolick flirted with a triple double, and the Road Warriors opened their Group B campaign with a win in Uichico’s first game since replacing Frankie Lim as head coach.
Henry had 31 points and 10 rebounds, while Bolick had 24 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists for the Road Warriors, who led by as many as 27 points before the Bossing came alive in the final quarter.
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NLEX’s lead, however, went down to 11 points before Bolick dished out an assist to Ritchie Rodger, who nailed a three to extend the lead to 97-83.
Robbie Herndon had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from threes, while Rodger added 10 points.
“I think we defended pretty well especially in the first half,” said Uichico. “In the third quarter, they had a run and that’s just the way the game is. We should learn how to break that kind of run because it could happen later on.”
“Na-break naman namin but we weren’t able to break the run as soon as I wanted to, without calling a timeout as much as possible,” said Uichico.
Blackwater saw another disappointing performance from import Ricky Ledo, who finished with just six points while shooting 2-of-15 from the field.
Christian David had 17 points and 10 rebounds, as Troy Rosario added 17 points for Blackwater. Sedrick Barefield had 16 points and five assists for the Bossing in a starting role.
The scores:
NLEX 104 – Henry 31, Bolick 24, Herndon 12, Rodger 10, Semerad 8, Valdez 6, Policarpio 5, Fajardo 5, Amer 3, Nieto 0, Pascual 0.
Blackwater 87 – David 17, Rosario 17, Barefield 16, Tungcab 6, Kwekuteye 6, Ledo 6, Chua 5, Ponferrada 4, Hill 4, Montalbo 2, Casio 2, Guinto 2, Suerte 0.
Quarters: 23-22; 51-37; 84-62; 104-87.
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