Road Warriors outlast Aces

After losing a 14-point fourth quarter advantage in their last game against Meralco, the NLEX Road Warriors showed they already learned from that painful lesson as they also lost a big lead against the Alaska Aces but recovered to score a crucial 116-110 overtime victory, Friday night in the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Aaron Fuller was the Best Player of the Game with a monster stat line of 42 points and 21 rebounds, going 18 of 26 from the field.

While it was Fuller who did the heavy lifting for NLEX, it was veteran JR Quinahan who closed out the game strong as he scored 10 of his 15 points in the extra period.

"We knew it was a must-win. We focused on defense and getting rebounds. We knew it was not going to be easy but we came together as a team," said Fuller. "We were able to close out. I'm glad we came through."

With the win, NLEX now holds a 5-5 win-loss tally, meaning their fate is still squarely in their hands. If they defeat the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in their final game, the Road Warriors will be heading into the playoffs, regardless of what happens in the other games.

NLEX got key contributions from Philip Paniamogan and Mike Miranda who scored 10 points apiece.

With Mike Harris hobbled with cramps, the Aces went to Jvee Casio late in the overtime period and the veteran point guard responded with a big triple to give Alaska a 108-107 lead. Harris soldiered on for Alaska as he went back into the ball game for defensive purposes. He blocked Fuller's first attempt but could not stop the NLEX import from scoring on the put-back.

With NLEX leading 109-108, Chris Banchero got an and-one opportunity but missed the bonus. Quinahan then stepped up for the Road Warriors with a triple on the other side for a 112-110 count with only 55 seconds remaining.

NLEX get a couple of key stops, forcing misses from Vic Manuel and Casio, to give Quinahan the chance to ice the game from the free throw line.

Alaska was led by Harris who had 35 points, 26 rebounds, and four blocks. The import was aided by Manuel who added 22 markers while Casio chipped in 16.