NLEX continues smooth ride
NLEX continued to roll, outclassing Blackwater Elite in a record-breaking shootout on the road, 115-109, to grab its third straight win and the solo lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Santa Rosa MultiPurpose Center in Laguna.
The Road Warriors leaned on their hot hands from beyond the arc to seize a 106-95 cushion and kept the Elite at bay with cold-blooded free throws heading home to wrap up the entertaining matchup highlighted by a new alltime standard for most combined triples.
Racking up treys left and right, NLEX and Blackwater shattered the old league high in treys of 35 posted by TNT and San Miguel in the Commissioner’s Cup last June 8 in Antipolo with their 37 aggregate. The victors rifled in 18 of 31 (58 percent) while the Elite converted 19 of 41 (46 percent), a new franchise best.
Kiefer Ravena accounted for five of those long bombs in his 25-point performance while Kenneth Ighalo and Philip Paniamogan knocked down four apiece.
“It is something we saw in the FIBA World Cup and hopefully we can apply it here in the PBA, use it to our advantage and this is a conscious effort, the time, the hours we put in (practicing three-point shots),” said Ravena, who also dished out seven assists while hauling down the same number of rebounds.
Later in the night, Dez Wells dropped 25 and Terrence Romeo added 18 as San Miguel Beer clobbered import-less Alaska, 109-83, for a 2-0 and a share of second with idle TNT KaTropa. The Aces couldn’t get going with Justin Watts sitting it out due to calf injury and fell to 0-3.