NLEX must be the most underrated No. 1 seed in recent PBA playoffs history.
Consider this: the Road Warriors finished the 50th Season Commissioner's Cup eliminations with a league-best 10-2 record, yet the chatter the past few days was on how lucky star-studded sister team is to draw them in the knockout quarterfinals.
READ Cone feels TNT 'got the match-up that they probably like vs NLEX'
And granting NLEX and TNT battle on even terms on the court, not a few are wondering if the MVP organization would allow the twice-to-beat Road Warriors to knock out the group's flagship franchise which spent a fortune to bring in import Bol Bol.
"Both teams want to get to the semis," was NLEX coach Jong Uichico's curt reply when asked about all the pre-playoffs chatter.
The Road Warriors lost to the Tropang 5G, 103-97, in their lone elimination-round match last March 22, but that game was close, marked by 13 deadlocks and 11 lead changes. NLEX also won 8 of their next 9 games after that loss.
In contrast, TNT hobbled home with losses in their last three games and tied for the seventh-best record with Phoenix Super LPG at 6-6.
Uichico has also built a team that looked capable of contending. Import Cady Lalanne is solid with averages of 26 points and 15.58 rebounds, Robert Bolick has blossomed into a leader capable of making an impact - either if he decides to shoot or pass - and Schonny Winston is proving to be a great pick-up.
To round it off, Kevin Alas heads a support cast that Uichico masterfully built with underrated players that have time and again proved that they belong in the PBA, from JB Bahio and Ljay Gonzales to Brandon Ramirez and Xyrus Torres.
"If we want to be the best, we have to beat the best," said Alas, who is averaging 7.3 points, 2.50 rebounds, and 2.25 assists while mostly coming off the bench. "And TNT is one of the best teams in the PBA."
But beyond the match-ups and the statistics and the Xs and Os, persistent talk keeps playing down NLEX's chances, only because it has always been regarded as the 'odd team out' among the three ballclubs under the MVP umbrella.
That chatter only grows louder when doubts are cast on how excited higher management must be to see NLEX, rather than TNT, go deeper in the playoffs.
"We tune out on the talks," Uichico said when asked about the online chatter. "Our goal is to perform the best we can in this playoff."
Alas was straight to the point.
"Yes, we are aware of what people say, and the best way to deal with it is to tune out and play the best you can," the former Gilas Pilipinas guard said. "[But] it's not true. Incentives na ang usapan when you make it to the semifinals."
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