NLEX forward Sean Anthony’s eyes must have widened after seeing an open lane for a baseline drive late in their duel with Terrafirma last night.
But Anthony, a usually reliable Road Warriors veteran, missed horribly in his layup try that led to Dyip big man Isaan Go sinking two free throws–the first one bouncing off the rim twice before trickling in for a 97-93 cushion, only 58.8 seconds left.
Showing better endgame poise, Terrafirma nipped NLEX 99-95 for its second straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Road Warriors big man Dave Marcelo scratched his head in disbelief at Anthony’s sorry boo-boo, and instead took matters into his own hands with a basket that pulled NLEX to within 95-97 with 51 ticks to go.
The Road Warriors forced a stop in the ensuing play after Dyip gunner Juami Tiongson was called for an offensive foul, but NLEX star Robert Bolick committed a costly ball handling turnover.
Terrafirma guard JP Calvo knocked down two freebies that proved to be the final nail in the Road Warriors’ coffins with 22.0 to go.
Dyip coach Johnedel Cardel pointed to their adjustment on their defensive game as one of the keys to the big win.
“Like I told you, we must have a good start in the third quarter especially sa depensa namin. We pushed them (Dyip) para maging effective ang depensa namin kasi they (Road Warriors) were scoring easily on the post,” Cardel said. “They were making pocket passes, so ang sabi ko sa third quarter ma-stop namin.
“Let them shoot outside, magmimintis din sila, mapapagod sila,” he added.
Cardel and his wards rose to 2-0 in the season-ending tourney after bringing down the Converge FiberXers 107-99 in both team’s opening tiffs three days back, thanks largely to a balanced attack spearheaded by Tiongson, who scattered 21 points, to go with two rebounds, and three assists.
Javi Gomez de Liaño added 18 markers, three boards, and five dimes for Terrafirma, while top rookie pick Stephen Holt and Calvo had 17 and 16 points, respectively.
NLEX came off a 107-100 triumph over NorthPort last Friday and fell to 1-1.
The Dyip enjoyed leads as much as 57-47 at the half before the likes of Bolick, Jhan Nermal, and Michael Miranda linked up for the Road Warriors’ third quarter comeback.
NLEX briefly grabbed the driver seat 73-70 going into the fourth canto but Terrafirma simply refused to wilt.
Bolick paced the Road Warriors with 29 points, five caroms, and eight feeds, but failed to get the much-needed help from his teammates–only Nermal, a freshman, was the other NLEX cager who hit double figures with 15 markers.