GAMES WEDNESDAY
(PhilSports Arena, Pasig)
5 p.m. – Terrafirma vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. – Phoenix vs. NorthPort
WITH nowhere to go on his drive, NLEX playmaker Kevin Alas threw a lob pass to Javee Mocon inside the paint in one picturesque play against Phoenix last night.
Despite manpower woes, the short-handed Road Warriors tripped the Fuel Masters 105-95 to climb to second and send their foes packing in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mocon soared to get the alley-hoop dime from Alas and scored on the basket that gave NLEX an 87-80 cushion with 8:51 remaining—another answer just when the back-against-the-wall Phoenix side tried to stage a big comeback.
Effort was the prevailing theme Road Warriors coach Jong Uichico uttered after the duel.
For good reason.
“Kahit na kulang kami, we appreciate the effort of the players they brought tonight. Naglaro sila ng extra minutes, halos walang pahinga,” Uichico said of his side that missed the services of Richie Rodger, Michael Miranda, Enoch Valdez, Jonnel Policarpio and Dominic Fajardo due to injury or illness.
“But they exerted their utmost effort maski na medyo offensively things were not falling our way.
“They were also scoring and rebounding, tuloy-tuloy iyong trabaho nila,” he added.
The 6-foot-3 Mocon came one rebound shy of a double-double with 23 points and nine boards, to go with three assists while main man Robert Bolick chipped in 20 markers, eight caroms, and seven dimes.
JB Bahio also had 15 and five and Tony Semerad and Xyrus Torres added 14 and 13 points, respectively, as the Road Warriors redeemed themselves from a 92-108 loss to the defending champions Meralco Bolts last week for a 7-2 mark and bolstered their bid for a top four finish at the end of the eliminations that will be rewarded with a twice-to-beat advantage in the Last Eight.
The defeat, its fourth in a row counting a 99-109 setback at the hands of Rain or Shine last Wednesday, pulled down Phoenix to 2-7, out of the race for the eight-team quarterfinals.
The Road Warriors raced to a 40-27 start on an Alas three-pointer at the 9:33 mark of the second canto before they settled for a 55-47 edge at the break.
The Fuel Masters gained a little bit of momentum, slicing the deficit to 74-80 heading into the payoff period.
But timely buckets from Mocon, who used to suit up for Phoenix, Torres, and Brandon Ramirez emptied all the gas left in the Fuel Masters’ tank.
Jason Perkins carried the fight for Phoenix with 28 points and seven rebounds while Kenneth Tuffin, Kai Ballungay, Tyler Tio, and RR Garcia made 17, 11, 11, and 11 markers, respectively.
A squad’s title bid got a big boost while the other was sent to the mothballs for another season.
