NLEX deals Meralco first Govs’ Cup loss
MANILA – NLEX Road Warriors recovered from a slow start to beat Meralco Bolts 100- 94 in the Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Import Aaron Fuller led the scoring with 25 points and 18 rebounds. Kevin Alas contributed 21 markers – 11 coming in the final quarter – while Larry Fonacier and JR Quinahan made 16 and 10, respectively.
Road Warriors hanged on to second place with a 5-1 win- loss record after Sunday night’s game. I mport Allen Durham
n rt finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds while Bacolodnon Reynel Hugnatan added 25 markers for Meralco, which was dealt its first defeat and dropped to 4-1.
Down by as much as 8 points early in the game, NLEX began to climb back in the second quarter behind inside hits by Fuller to come to 41-44 at the half.
Road Warriors continued to trail behind Bolts in the second half before finally tasting the lead 73- 72 on triples by Negrense Raul Soyud and Alas. It then became a seesaw battle. The scores locked at 86-all but that was the last.
A triple by Fonacier followed by inside hits by Alas and Quinahan pushed NLEX to 93- 86. Back- to- back triples by Bolts’ Baser Amer cut the deficit 94-97 but free throws by Fuller and Alex Mallari sealed the win for Road Warriors.
“It is surreal seeing our team on top of the standings, beating a very good team in Meralco,” said NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao. “We’re trying to do reality check, and this is a good test.”/