NLEX, Blackwater down rivals

MANILA, Philippines - Greg Slaughter took charge in the fourth quarter as defending champion NLEX bucked poor form to thwart Big Chill, 66-59, while Blackwater Sports subdued Boracay Rum, 79-69, as they moved closer to a title showdown in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Blue Eagle gym inside the Ateneo campus yesterday.

The seven-foot Slaughter imposed his will inside in the payoff period, scoring all but one of his eight points as the Road Warriors rode on a 14-0 run to put away the pesky Superchargers and take the opener of their best-of-three Final Four series.

Kirk Long and Jake Pascual also starred in that decisive NLEX fourth quarter attack with Slaughter adding three late free throws to help give the Road Warriors a big 62-49 lead.

“We’re rusty, we shot poorly and we missed a lot of free throws. It was an ugly game and I’m happy we got the win,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

“Good thing we have Greg. He doesn’t want to lose and he made the difference in the fourth when we needed a spark,” he added.

The victory, NLEX’s 10th straight since losing its first two games, thus moved the Road Warriors to a win for a fifth straight trip to the finals.

Later in the day, Blackwater Sports outscored Boracay Rum, 24-13, in the third period, breaking away from a tight first half game and into the double-digit win that pushed them closer to a title duel with the fancied Warriors.

“At halftime, which ended at 35-all, I told the players to just play two more good quarters. Sometimes when you challenge your players they respond well. I thought they did a good job in the second half,” said Blackwater Sports coach Leo Isaac, seeking his first championship since 2009 when he steered the Arellano to victory in the National Capitol Region Athletic Association.

Gio Ciriacruz scored 16 points while Allan Mangahas tallied 14 markers and had eight assists for the Elite.

The defending champions and the Elite could wrap up the their respective series with another pair of victories tomorrow.

Long scored 14 points while Jake Pascual added 10 markers and 13 rebounds for the Road Warriors, who groped for form majority of the way after a two-week break.