NLEX joined four other squads atop the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup standings after outlasting a gritty Meralco side, 89-85, on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
JB Bahio powered a fourth-quarter rally before the Road Warriors made the necessary stops in the endgame to survive the Bolts and improve to 3-1, and gain a share of the league lead with TNT, Converge, Magnolia and Rain or Shine.
Robert Bolick nailed two free throws to give the Road Warriors a four-point lead before Bong Quinto missed the potential overtime-sending four-pointer as time expired.
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“Disiplina and poise lang. We try to match their intensity kasi grabe ang intensity ng Meralco, they get a lot of loose balls and a lot of offensive rebounds. We just try to defend them the best way we can,” NLEX coach Jong Uichico said.
“It was still a close game that could’ve been anybody’s ball game, thankfully we made stops in the end,” he added.
Bahio conspired with Kevin Alas and Jonnel Policarpio in a 16-2 run that turned a three-point Meralco lead into a commanding 85-74 NLEX lead with 6:43 remaining.
Since then, it was all about lead management for the Road Warriors, making sure that there won’t be any comeback from the Bolts despite cutting the lead to two with 13 seconds remaining.
Bahio finished with 16 points and seven rebounds while Alas added 12. Bolick flirted with a triple-double as he scored 11 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds.
Two other NLEX players breached double digits with Policarpio and Robbie Herndon adding 10 points apiece.
CJ Cansino continued his strong play for the Bolts with 24 points but it wasn’t enough as they fell to 3-3. Chris Newsome added 21 points while Cliff Hodge finished with 14 points and 17 boards.
The Scores:
NLEX 89 - Bahio 16, Alas 12, Bolick 11, Herndon 10, Policarpio 10, Torres 9, Semerad 7, Fajardo 6, Nieto 5, Mocon 2, Ramirez 1
Meralco 85 - Cansino 24, Newsome 21, Hodge 14, Caram 9, Quinto 6, Black 5, Bates 4, Comia 2, Pascual 0, Maliksi 0, Almazan 0
Quarters: 24-13, 46-45, 68-69, 89-85
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