Warriors finish strong vs Gems, seal 8th win

MANILA, Philippines - Ronald Pascual hit a clutch triple and NLEX outplayed Cebuana Lhuillier down the stretch to carve out a 76-68 victory and extend its win run to eight in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City yesterday.

Pascual’s trey in the last 3:42 keyed the Road Warriors’ big 13-6 closing run as they broke away from a tight 63-62 edge to cruise to the win and remain the lone unbeaten team in the field. 

Meanwhile, Big Chill took charge early then withstood a ferocious second half charge by Jumbo Plastic as the Superchargers pounded out a crucial 50-46 victory over the Giants in the second game.

“I challenged the players to step up in this game because this is a must-win for us. We need a victory to stay in contention for playoff berth,” said Big Chill coach Robert Sison. “I’m really glad they responded well to my call.”

Mar Villahermosa scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter as he singlehandedly carried the fight for Superchargers when the Giants appeared poised to take control.

Big Chill thus bounced back from a 76-77 loss to Derulo Accelero last Monday to boost their quarterfinal chances with a 4-4 slate.

NLEX appeared rusty coming off a 10-day rest and struggled to find their rhythm all game long.

“We have achieved our goal so I gave the players some rest. I thought they deserve it. But a win is a win,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

Fernandez also gave the Gems some credit for giving them a tough challenge.

“I thought Cebuana did a good job slowing us down. They played tough and rough,” he said.

Pascual finished with a game-high 14 points. Garvo Lanete and Ola Adeogun came off the bench and scored 12 markers apiece as NLEX’s reserves outscored Cebuana Lhuillier’s, 47-19.

The Road Warriors led by as many as 42-31 on a bank shot jumper by Matthew Ganualas early in the third quarter.

But the Gems battled back behind Paul Zamar, James Martinez and James Mangahas, pulling within, 62-63, on Bambam Gamalinda’s trey with 4:04 left. But they failed to sustain their run, turning the ball over on two crucial possessions and missing a couple of easy shots near the basket.

Zamar scored 15 points, Gab Banal had 11 while Marcy Arellano and Gamalida added 10 apiece for the Gems, who picked up their second straight loss that stalled their bid for an outright semifinal berth with a 5-3 card.

Janus scored all his 12 points in the first half to help the Superchargers built a huge 25-9 advantage in the second quarter.