Road Warriors rain treys on Pacific five

MANILA, Philippines - Ronald Pascual scored 25 points and the NLEX Road Warriors, aided by seven 3-pointers in the first half, defeated RnW Pacific Pipes, 87-72, yesterday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the San Juan gym.

Pascual, a 6-foot-3 forward from San Sebastian College, collected 11 points in the opening quarter and his three 3-point shot at the 5:31 mark led to a 13-2 run that propelled NLEX to a 20-13 lead that held on the rest of the way. He went 10 of 18 from the field including 5 of 9 from 3-point range.

The Road Warriors effectively worked the ball around that often led to open shots and easy lay-ups. By halftime they had 13 assists and finished the game with 23, 14 more than Pacific Pipes’.

“I told the players our performance against Pacific Pipes will show our character as a team. I thought we responded well on both ends,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

Cebuana Lhuillier turned to the defense in the second half to topple the FCA Cultivators, 80-58, and tied idle Cobra Energy Drink for Group B lead with its second straight win.

Allaein Maliksi turned in a game-high 20 points and had 11 rebounds to show the way for the Gems, who outscored the Cultivators, 26-13 in the third quarter to overhaul a two-point halftime deficit and took the lead for good, 58-47.

Alex Mallari scored 18 points and Raffy Reyes added 10 for FCA, which fell to 1-1.