NLEX clobbers Blackwater
The NLEX Road Warriors needed to shake off some early
rust and hold off a second half rally before
closing out the Blackwater Elite, 8875, to pick up an Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup win in an Easter Sunday duel at the Smart Araneta
Coliseum. NLEX shot under 30percent in the first quarter and had to weather an 18-4 turnaround from Blackwater bridging the third and fourth quarters but held strong to notch their fourth win in eight games, moving back up to .500 in the conference standings.
Asi Taulava and Al Thornton both scored 22 points to pace NLEX with the Fil- Tongan veteran adding 15 rebounds and four assists and the former NBA player grabbing eight boards of his own.
Sean Anthony also had 15 points and eight rebounds while Kevin Alas had 10.
The game began with both teams showing some rust after the Holy Week break. NLEX had 18 points after the first quarter but shot just 6- for- 22 ( 27percent) while Blackwater could only muster 12 markers on 5- for- 20 shooting (25-percent).
Behind Thornton and Taulava, the Road Warriors surged ahead in the second quarter, where they shot much better, hitting more than half of their field goal attempts after their slow start.
That allowed NLEX to take a 42-32 lead at the half with Blackwater still at 28percent shooting after two periods.
Thornton led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds while Taulava had 11 points and six boards at the halftime break. MJ Rhett led the Elite with nine points and nine rebounds.
In the third, NLEX pushed its lead to a high of 16 points after a 9-2 run but Blackwater responded with a furious 12- 2 finish to close out the period, led by Rhett, who scored five points in the rally, and Art Dela Cruz, who knocked down a triple in the dying seconds of the quarter to cut the deficit back down to just six, 66-60.
Despite the best efforts of Dela Cruz, who starred as the Elite came as close to two points, 68-66, early in the fourth, Blackwater fell behind as NLEX once again stretch their lead to double figures.
Taulava opened that run with a basket that was soon followed by a big three- pointer from Thornton. The import then assisted with a nice lob pass to Anthony and the latter added two more points as he intercepted a Mike Cortez pass and took it all the way to the other end for an easy two.
Thornton capped it with a huge dunk on a strong move to the hoop, giving the Road Warriors an 81- 69 lead with 2: 47 remaining.
Thornton added two free throws to make it 83-73 with 1: 33 remaining and NLEX led by double-digits the rest of the way.
Dela Cruz led Blackwater with 16 points and also had 12 rebounds. Rhett also had a doubledouble for the Elite (3-6) with 14 points and 18 boards, though he did have seven turnovers. —