Warriors gain final; Superchargers force rubber

MANILA, Philippines - NLEX repeated over Hog’s Breath Café, 85-72, to earn a return trip to the finals but second seed Big Chill got back at Blackwater Sports, 95-84, to force a sudden death for the other championship berth in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Arena in Pasig yesterday.

The defending champion Road Warriors took control early, holding their rivals to eight first quarter points while scoring 20 markers of their own en route to victory, their second straight for a sweep of their best-of-three Final Four series.

“We started strong and we stuck to our game plan and I’m glad this is over. Now we can rest and prepare for the Finals. Either Big Chill or Blackwater Sports will be a tough opponent. So we got to be ready,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez, whose wards also thumped the Razorbacks, 99-74, in Game One.

Earlier, the Superchargers leaned on their reserves to stop the Elite and force a Game Three in their side of the semis. Big Chill and Blackwater dispute the other final slot on Tuesday with the title series set on Feb. 21.

Garvo Lanete scored 16 points, Matthew Ganuelas contributed 14 markers on 5 of 8 shooting while Jake Pascual had 11 points and 10 rebounds for NLEX, which posted its biggest lead at 76-44 early in the fourth on a triple by Ronald Pascual.

Big Chill, meanwhile, used a strong second quarter run to turn back Blackwater, which took the opener, 84-72, but failed to sustain its first quarter charge.

“With our backs against the wall, the players showed their character. They played with a lot of heart, they didn’t back down and made the big plays in the end,” said Big Chill coach Robert Sison.

“I thought our defense was the key. We viewed the tape of Game 1, saw some flaws and made the adjustments,” added Sison.