Road Warriors nip Gin Kings to enter quarterfinals

MANILA, Philippines -- The NLEX Road Warriors held on and grinded their way to the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals after escaping the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 76-72, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila on Sunday.

With NLEX’s win, the Terrafirma Dyip and the NorthPort Batang Pier will battle it out for the final playoff seat.

Robert Bolick came up big in the must-win game, scattering 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Road Warriors, who arrested their four-game losing streak.

Ginebra trailed by as much as 13 points, 58-71, in the fourth quarter.

The Gin Kings then showcased their patented never-say-die spirit and cut the lead to just three, 70-73, with less than two minutes remaining with a Stanley Pringle layup.

With mere seconds remaining, off a timeout, Japeth Aguilar attempted a trey that would have tied it up that rattled out. Ahanmisi grabbed the board anew and pulled back from beyond the arc as he was fouled by Bolick.

After calmly sinking the first two free throws, he muffed the game-tying freebie, 72-73.

It took some time before Ginebra was able to stop the clock with a foul, sending Baser Amer to the charity stripe.

A miss and a make on the line gave the Gin Kings an opportunity to tie or win, but Von Pessumal threw the ball away as they kissed the triumphant finish to their elimination round goodbye.

Richie Rodger had 11 markers, six boards and two dimes for the Road Warriors.

Christian Standhardinger finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the losing effort.

Aguilar and Ahanmisi backstopped with 15 and 14 markers, respectively.

NLEX ended the eliminations with a 6-5 win-loss record, while the Gin Kings dropped to 7-4, seeing a four-game winning streak snapped.