Road Warriors foil Giants, nail No. 7

MANILA, Philippines - NLEX held off a rallying Jumbo Plastic to carve out a 71-59 victory, stretch its win run to seven and clinch a spot in the playoffs in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig yesterday.

Kevin Alas and Rome dela Rosa took charge in the clutch, sparking a decisive 20-8 windup as the Road Warriors broke away from a tight 51-all count to win by a margin and keep their unbeaten run going. 

“Our goal is to make it to the top two right away. I think we’re very much on target,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez, back at the helm after missing the team’s three previous games to accompany the San Beda Red Lions in their training in Lithuania for the upcoming NCAA season.

The Giants dropped to third at 4-2 behind Cebuana Lhuillier’s 4-1 mark.

Earlier, Quinton Heruela scored 13 points and had 11 assists to lead Big Chill past Café France, 68-54, and even its card at 3-3. The Bakers slid to 2-4.

The Superchargers wore down the Bakers with their up-tempo game and led by as many as 18 points. They never trailed after scoring the first five points of the contest.

“As I’ve been always saying, Jumbo Plastic is a tough defensive team. They prove it today. They pushed us to the limit and held us below our normal scoring average. We’re just lucky to get away with the win,” Fernandez said.