JONATHON Simmons capped his NLEX stint with a bang, scoring 38 points in his final game and the Road Warriors overcame a late Phoenix Super LPG, 98-94, on Saturday in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center.
NLEX vs Phoenix recap
Simmons nailed key shots to give his team enough gap to lift the Road Warriors to a 4-0 win-loss record and a share of lead in the team standings.
It was a promise fulfilled for Simmons, who vowed to sweep all his games with NLEX before he leaves on Monday to play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
NLEX still survived a Phoenix rally in the end game before picking up the win and send the Fuel Masters to their fourth loss in five outings.
“It’s just too bad that Simms have to leave. But again, we just have to go on and work with our 4-0 run,” said NLEX coach Frankie Lim.
Anthony Semerad had 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from threes, while Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had 14 points and six rebounds to also contribute in the NLEX victory.
Simmons had nine points in the fourth quarter including a slam that enabled NLEX to take a 92-76 lead with 4:39 remaining, the biggest lead of the contest. The gap proved to be enough after Phoenix came storming back to make the game interesting in the end.
Phoenix lost even with the double-double efforts of Du’Vaughn Maxwell (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Jason Perkins (17 points, 13 rebounds).
The scores:
NLEX 98 – Simmons 38, Semerad 16, Ganuelas-Rosser 14, Trollano 11, Alas 9, Rosales 4, Anthony 3, Pascual 2, Nieto 1.
Phoenix Super LPG 94 – Maxwell 25, Perkins 17, Jazul 13, Tio 11, Manganti 8, Muyang 6, Soyud 4, Lalata 4, Garcia 4, Lojera 2, Adamos 0, Alejandro 0, Serrano 0, Camacho 0.
Quarters: 32-23; 52-49; 76-73; 98-94.
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