Road Warriors snare B Pier
KINGS REIGN, CLOSE IN ON SEMIS
Games Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:15 p.m. – TNT KaTropa vs Meralco 7 p.m. – San Miguel vs Rain or Shine
NLEX found an unlikely hero in Juami Tiongson as the Road Warriors survived a near-meltdown from an early 18-point lead and got past the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 109-99, to virtually claim a crucial Top Four finish in the PBA Governors Cup eliminations at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
The Road Warriors’ huge lead was down to two, 78-76, at the start of the last period but Tiongson stepped up, erupting for 14 fourth-quarter points to bail NLEX out of trouble versus a GlobalPort side that waged a tough fight sans prolific Fil-Am guard Stanley Pringle.
Tiongson, a free agent recruit by NLEX after the Commissioner’s Cup, strung up four treys in a key explosion at the outset of the fourth and the Road Warriors checked an impending collapse to nail a seventh win against two losses.
The Batang Pier reeled to their fourth loss against three wins.
“Seven wins can give you a tie (for a spot in the Top Four), but we don’t want a tie because if we go to quotient, you can never tell. We want to be sure,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao, determined to get his team to a Top Four finish for a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
“We have two more games against TNT KaTropa and Star. Pag may natsambahan kami roon, we’re guaranteed of a Top Four spot,” Guiao added.
The fiery NLEX bench chieftain said they drew a big boost from Tiongson and gained a big break with Pringle rushing to the United States to attend to his ailing father.
Tiongson came through with a key 5-of-5 clip in the fourth quarter to highlight a career-best 21-point showing.
The Batang Pier, meanwhile, missed the services of their ace playmaker who averages 28.8 points and 6.5 assists an outing.
“Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. It’s a big break for us that Pringle wasn’t able to play,” said Guiao.
“I was watching their game against TNT the last time, and I was already contemplating on how to stop this guy,” added Guiao, recalling the GlobalPort-TNT setto where Pringle sizzled with a career-high 30 markers.
Later in the night, Japeth Aguilar jammed in a ball, playing around the rim to make sure a crucial basket went in in the closing seconds and Barangay Ginebra overcame Star, 105-101, in a tough overtime battle to also close in on a Top Four finish.
The Kings improved to 6-1 while the Hotshots dropped to 4-2.
“That’s a tough game. At the end of the game, our guys were exhausted in trying to run up and down against a quick team,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone after squeezing through in the classic match watched by a crowd of over 15,000.
“We didn’t play the game well, but we hung around and hung around. And I feel we stole it in the end as they played well throughout the game,” Cone also said.
The scores: First Game NLEX 109 – Fuller 33, Tiongson 21, Quiñahan 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, Araña 9, Guinto 6, Cardona 4, Baracael 3, Mamaril 0, Hubalde 0, Celiz 0. Quarterscores: 33-22, 56-54, 78-76, 109-99 Second Game GINEBRA 105 – Brownlee 33, Devance 17, Slaughter 17, Tenorio 13, Aguilar 12, Thompson 7, Ferrer 4, Taha 2, Mercado 0, Cruz 0.
STAR 101 – Hill 28, Lee 22, Barroca 14, Ramos 11, Sangalang 10, Reavis 10, Maliksi 4, Jalalon 2, Melton 0, Simon 0, Pingris 0.
Quarterscores: 21-25, 40-45, 73-70, 95-95, 105-101.