The NLEX Road Warriors continued their solid showing in the Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup, picking up their seventh win after trouncing the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 109-99, on Sunday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Import Aaron Fuller registered 33 points and 20 rebounds while Juami Tiongson nailed a career-high 21 points to steer the Road Warriors (7-2) who squandered a huge first quarter lead but were able to recover to get the win.
NLEX went off to a hot start, zooming to a 27-9 lead in the opening frame. The Batang Pier however trimmed it to 11 points, 33-22, after the first 12 minutes after launching a run capped by Terrence Romeo’s wild triple from beyond halfcourt.
The Batang Pier waxed hot from downtown, nailing nine out of their 20 attempts as GlobalPort came to within two points, 56-54. Romeo was a big factor in GlobalPort’s comeback, scoring 18 points in the first half.
GlobalPort got its first taste of the lead, 63-62, after a Sean Anthony layup with 6:41 remaining in the third quarter.
The Road Warriors then got a lift from Tiongson who fired four triples in the fourth frame to help NLEX regain a 94-87 lead.
NLEX pushed its lead to 10 points, 105-95, with just two minutes left–enough to stave off GlobalPort.
Murphy Holloway scored 29 points and 17 rebounds while Romeo finished the game with 24 points for the Batang Pier (3-4) who missed the services of Stanley Pringle.
Pringle, who just dropped a career-high 30 points in GlobalPort’s win against TNT last Friday, took a leave of absence from the team to attend to his father who just passed away.
The game also saw the return of Mac Cardona who signed with GlobalPort after taking time off basketball after a year. He scored four points and two boards in eight minutes of action.
The scores:
NLEX 109 – Fuller 33, Tiongson 21, Quinahan 18, Alas 12, Baguio 10, Mallari 8, Fonacier 4, Ighalo 3, Al-Hussaini 0, Lastimosa 0, J. Villanueva 0, Soyud 0, Taulava 0.
GLOBALPORT 99 – Holloway 29, Romeo 24, Anthony 15, Cortez 9, Arana 9, Guinto 6, Cardona 4, Baracael 3, Mamaril 0, Hubalde 0, Celiz 0.
Quarterscores: 33-22, 56-54, 78-76, 109-99.
