NLEX, Cebuana near title clash

MANILA, Philippines - NLEX and Cebuana Lhuillier both rode on a fourth quarter burst to beat Blackwater Sports and Big Chill, respectively, and move closer to another title clash in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City yesterday.

The Road Warriors outscored the Sports, 27-19, in the last period to post an 86-77 victory in the opener of their best-of-three semifinal series.

Cliff Hodge hit 22 points and Calvin Abueva came off the bench to fire 13 and haul down 12 rebounds for the Road Warriors, who broke away in the last four minutes to stretch their win run to 10.

The score stood at 68-67 after Robby Celiz split his charities to put Blackwater within but the Road Warriors came up with a closing 18-10 run to clinch the win.

The Gems, on the other hand, got their game going in the third quarter then kept their momentum in the fourth to score a 79-66 rout.

Chris Exciminiano fired 16 points while James Mangahas and reigning MVP Vic Manuel had 10 apiece for the Gems, who also moved 1-0 in their own side of the Final Four. 

Raffy Reyes scored 17 points to show the way for Big Chill, which also drew 13 points apiece from Mac Montilla and Keith Jensen.