NLEX battles through 21-point deficit, jolts San Miguel

Games Wednesday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:15 p.m. – Talk n Text vs Kia

7 p.m. – Blackwater vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – The NLEX Road Warriors pulled off a feat they narrowly missed against the Talk n Text Tropang Texters Friday, coming alive in the second half and overcoming a huge deficit as they jolted the San Miguel Beermen, 100-93, to move a rung up to joint ninth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome Tuesday night.

Refusing to quit after falling behind by 21 midway through the third quarter, the Road Warriors, through the heroics of Al Thornton, Jonas Villanueva and Mark Borboran, turned the game around towards the end and went on to claim the stirring victory that tied them with the idle Kia Carnival at ninth place at 2-4.

It could have been a third straight win for the Road Warriors if not for Talk Text guard Jayson Castro’s game-winner at the buzzer, quashing NLEX’s fightback from a 29-point deficit in their game four days ago. The Texters escaped with a 98-96 nail-biter.

“It’s almost the same, and thankfully we pulled through this time,” said Thornton, making a big difference with his crucial 13-point flurry in the fourth quarter.

“In the first half, we allowed San Miguel to do their thing. Everything changed when we shifted to zone in the second half,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

With their defensive shift, the Road Warriors stopped Junemar Fajardo’s post-up plays and AZ Reid’s penetrations, a big factor in handing the Philippine Cup champs a fifth loss against a lone win in the mid-season tourney.

San Miguel looked headed for a follow-up to its emphatic 102-86 win over Meralco Saturday in Cagayan de Oro when the Beermen roared to a 21-point lead at 64-43 on a three-point play by Reid with 5:15 left in the third period.

But NLEX turned out to be just saving its best for last.

Making the stops and getting the rebounds, the Road Warriors pulled even after a long, long chase at 88-all entering the last three minutes of play.

And as they kept their tight, efficient defense, Thornton and Villanueva also continued to deliver the goods on the offensive end as NLEX raced ahead at 95-88 with just 1:02 to go.

After five SMB misses from beyond the arc, Arwind Santos snapped their scoreless spell with his three-point conversion, making it 91-95 but with only 30 seconds left to play.

“We forced them to shoot treys rather than go on post-ups by Junemar and the attacks by Reid. Thankfully, we’re able to take that away from them,” said Fernandez.

Thrown out of their comfort zones, Reid was held scoreless in the fourth quarter after scattering 27 points in the first 36 minutes of play while Fajardo was limited to 10 points and nine rebounds after erupting for a 20-20 game the last time out.

Thornton came through with 30 points, 12 rebounds, one assist and one block against four errors in 41 minutes of action, and in the post-game interview promised the NLEX fans: “Hang in there, we’re gonna get better.”