Warriors sweep title on Pascual buzzer-beater

MANILA, Philippines - Ronald Pascual hit a jumper at the buzzer to lift the NLEX Road Warriors to a thrilling 61-59 victory over Cebuana Lhuillier and become the first champion of the PBA D-League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City yesterday.

Pascual took the inbound pass from John Raymundo with 0.8 seconds left in the clock and fired the game-winner against Marvin Hayes in the corner, triggering a wild celebration at centercourt and completing the Road Warriors’ sweep of the best-of-three series.

Pascual finished with 10 points on four of 12 shooting and his game-winning shot broke the hearts of the Gems, who fought back from 13 points down to draw level at 59 on a Kevin Alas coast-to-coast drive.

NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez quickly sued for time and designed the play he said they have been practicing over and over.

“When Cebuana tied the count I know exactly what play to run. We have been doing it time and time again in practice and I knew Ronald would make the shot. I was very confident he’ll take it and make it,” Fernandez said.

“When I fired the shot, I knew I would make it. We have been doing the play in practice,” said Pascual in Filipino.

Luigi Trillo, the Cebuana Lhuillier coach, was gracious in defeat.

“Coach Boyet ran a good play. We switched well on defense but Pascual made a tough shot. They deserved it,” Trillo said.

Calvin Abueva led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. With Cliffoird Hodge hauling down 10 rebounds, the Road Warriors outrebounded the Gems, 58-43.

“It was so sweet. It’s a nice feeling (to win),” said Fernandez. “But the credit goes to my players. I can’t accomplish this without their efforts.”

Neither team led by double digits in the first half as both squads struggled and shot poorly while putting premium on defense.

The two teams took a combined 136 attempts from the field but made only 44.

Seldom used Hyram Bagatsing paced the Gems with 13 points, scoring the bulk down the stretch that brought the team back into the contest.

NLEX appeared headed for a rout when it uncorked a 16-6 run bridging the second and third quarters and took a commanding 43-30 lead on a drive by Pascual.

But the Gems refused to give up and pounced on the Warriors’ misses, eventually forcing a tie at 45 entering the final quarter.

Ogie Menor made a split that made it 59-57 for NLEX with 6.6 seconds left.

Alas then ran the length of the court after an inbound and easily scored on a drive to tie the game for the last time.