Road Warriors topple Kings
Game today (Ynares Center, Antipolo) 4:30 p.m. – Alaska vs GlobalPort 6:45 p.m. – San Miguel vs Magnolia
NLEX got out of an ugly slump last night by beating Ginebra and its horde of fans, 81-78, in a hard-fought match at the Cuneta Astrodome.
It was the first win for 2018 for NLEX, which won its first two games in the tournament that started last Dec. 17 then lost four in a row against Magnolia, San Miguel, Rain or Shine and Phoenix.
Coach Yeng Guiao tried hard to figure out ways to end the skid, and he did the unusual by calling his team to a morning practice yesterday.
“That’s very unusual for us because we usually want to get rested in the morning of a game. But today we did it just to shake it off and have a different routine,” he said.
“We did some shoot-around and some walk-throughs. Looks like it worked,” added the fiery coach after the win that improved their record to 3-4 in the PBA Philippine Cup.
It was an uphill battle for the Road Warriors, who trailed the Gin Kings most of the way. They faced a 14-point deficit in the third quarter and looked headed to yet another defeat.
NLEX rode on the lean shoulders of veteran Cyrus Baguio and hitman Larry Fonacier to turn it around, the former scoring the team’s first 11 points in the fourth quarter and the latter hitting five in a row, including a triple that gave the team a 75-73 lead with five minutes left.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone kept yelling instructions from the bench but couldn’t squeeze anything more from his players, one or two of them sniffing oxygen from portable tanks during breaks.
The game was tied at 77 as the game entered its last two minutes.
After JR Quinnahan scored on a follow-up to give NLEX a 7977 lead, Greg Slaughter was fouled inside with only 5.6 seconds left. The Ginebra crowd held its breath as the seven-footer made the first charity and missed the second. NLEX held on for the win.
“Ang hirap. Sobra hirap (It was very tough),” said Guiao, who was up on his feet the entire game.
“I don’t know how we won this game. Please don’t ask me how we won the game,” he added.
With the victory, NLEX joined Phoenix and Ginebra at 3-4, and boosted its hopes of making it to the quarterfinals.
The scores: NLEX 81– Fonacier 17, Quinahan 14, Baguio 13, Mallari 11, Ravena 7, Taulava 5, Tiongson 4, Alas 4, Soyud 2, Miranda 2, Ighalo 2, Uyloan 0.
GINEBRA 78 – Aguilar J. 21, Tenorio 12, Aguilar R. 9, Thompson 8, Cruz 8, Ferrer 6, Mercado 5, Caguioa 0, Taha 0.
Quarterscores: 19-20, 35-43, 55-59, 81-78.