Road Warriors repulse Gems

MANILA, Philippines -  NLEX used one big scoring run in the second quarter to wrest control then held off Cebuana Lhuillier in the second half to pull off a 76-62 victory at The Arena in San Juan yesterday and move within a win from claiming the inaugural PBA D-League Foundation Cup crown.

Ronalad Pascual fired 21 points and John Raymundo keyed a telling 17-7 run in the second period to power the Road Warriors to double-digit spreads that held up the rest of the way.

“It was tough battle. But we came in prepared. My players followed our game plan to the letter and we got the win,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

He, however, credited his wards for their defense that neutralized the Gems’ top gunners in a highly physical contest.

“Our target was to limit Cebuana to 60 points and we did just that. I thought we did pretty well on the defensive particularly in containing their shooters,” said Fernandez.

NLEX goes for the sweep and the crown in Game Two of the best-of-three series tomorrow at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig City.

Gametime is at 3 p.m.

“We will enjoy this victory for about an hour then we’ll re-focus again for the next game,” said Fernandez, who expects the Gems to make some key adjustments to force the sudden death.

NLEX was up by two after the first quarter before the two teams went on a scoreless spell over a three-minute stretch in the second.

Then Raymundo took over.

He completed a three-point play, scored on a pull-up jumper and dished off Pascual for a triple, giving NLEX a 36-24 lead at halftime.

In between those scoring binge, the Road Warriors held the Gems to just two of 16 shooting to underscore their tough defensive stand.

Ogie Menor scored 14, and Cliffors Hodge added 10 and seven shot blocks for NLEX, which shot 44 percent from the field.

After a five-point output in the first half, Allein Maliksi regained his bearing in the second and finished with game-high 21 points.

NLEX surged to a 40-24 lead early in the third but Maliksi scored 10 points for the Gems, who struck back with a 12-4 roll to pull within, 38-44, midway in the period.

But that was the closest that the Gems could get as the Road Warriors put their act together and unloaded another 16-9 run in a seven-minute stretch to pull away for good, 60-47.