NLEX clinched a twice-to-beat advantage and virtually booted Converge out of quarterfinal contention, 100-81, on Saturday in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Road Warriors also boosted their bid to secure the No. 1 spot with their third straight victory to improve their win-loss record to 9-2.
The loss likely ousted Converge from a spot in the quarterfinals even with one game to play after its win-loss record fell to 4-7.
The FiberXers still have a game against Blackwater on May 9, but they lost to Magnolia, San Miguel, and Terrafirma - teams that can still end up with five victories at the end of the eliminations.
Schonny Winston proved to be a thorn on the Converge side with 21 points, while Cady Lalanne had 22 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks.
NLEX outscored Converge, 66-45, in the second half, including a 28-18 edge in the third that saw Winston had 11 in that quarter.
“Nag-struggle kami sa first half. Both teams were not scoring well. Mababa yung score so sabi ko, nakaka-good shot naman kami. Tuloy-tuloy lang. Kapag libre, tira. Mabuti naman nung huli, pumapasok na yung tira namin,” said NLEX coach Jong Uichico.
Robert Bolick also had 21 points, three rebounds, and five assists for the Road Warriors.
NLEX also got a boost from Tony Semerad (11 points) and Xyrus Torres (eight points) as the duo nailed back-to-back threes to finish an 8-0 blast and put the Road Warriors up, 76-58.
Justin Arana had 21 points and seven rebounds, and Archie Concepcion had 10 points, but Donovan Smith only had six points and fouled out in the fourth quarter.
The scores:
NLEX 100 – Lalanne 22, Winston 21, Bolick 21, Semerad 11, Torres 8, Gonzales 4, Racal 4, Rodger 3, Bahio 2, Gamboa 2, Nieto 2, Ramirez 0.
Converge 81 – Arana 21, Concepcion 10, Gomez de Liano 9, Baltazar 9, Abueva 8, Stockton 6, Smith 6, Policarpio 6, Williams 4, Muyang 2, Garcia 0.
Quarters: 23-11; 34-36; 62-54; 100-81.
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