JONATHON Simmons led an NLEX’s fightback in the fourth quarter that led to a 110-108 win over TNT on Wednesday in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Philsports Arena.
Simmons finished with 45 points and highlighted his game-long brilliance with key baskets that completed a comeback from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit.
The win improved NLEX's record to 3-0 (win-loss) ad kept Simmons on target to fulfill his promise of giving NLEX four wins this conference before leaving to rejoin his team in China.
The final game of the former San Antonio Spurs back-up will be on Saturday against Phoenix.
The win enabled NLEX to join Converge at the top of the team standings.
“It’s composure,” said NLEX coach Frankie Lim. “They (TNT) were up so many times. They were up by more than 10 points. During timeouts, I told them you guys are okay, you are looking good. You sucked but they are just up by 10 points.”
Simmons helped NLEX overcome an 85-70 deficit in the third. The Road Warriors were still trailing, 96-84, when Simmons capped a 20-2 run with a jumper with 3:21 left in the fourth for a 104-98 lead.
Fit-again Sean Anthony finished with 15 points including a putback that put NLEX up for good, 99-98. Kevin Alas' 13 points for the Road Warriors included a lay-up with 41.9 seconds remaining for a 110-106 advantage.
Jalen Hudson had 39 points and 10 rebounds, while Roger Pogoy tallied 21 points, but Mikey Williams was limited to only two points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field.
The scores:
NLEX 110 – Simmons 45, Anthony 15, Alas 13, Semerad 10, Trollano 9, Rosales 8, Nieto 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Pascual 0, Gabo 0.
TNT 108 - Hudson 39, Pogoy 21, Khobuntin 10, Castro 10, Montalbo 6, K. Williams 6, Tungcab 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Chua 3, Varilla 2, Marcelo 0.
Quarters: 28-31; 49-56; 78-91; 110-108.
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