NLEX, Big Chill start best-of-3 title series

MANILA, Philippines - NLEX tries to start winning championship again after a rare loss in last conference’s finals.

Only the Big Chill Superchargers stand in the way of the defending champion Road Warriors in their quest for redemption and a fifth championship.

NLEX and Big Chill dispute the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup in a best-of-three titular series starting at 1 p.m. with delayed telecast on Aksyon TV.

 It will be a rematch of their 2011-12 Foundations Cup finals eventually won by the Road Warriors.

“This conference is a motivation for us,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez. He describes their defeat to Blackwater Sports in last conference’s finals, their first in five finals appearances as “very tough one for the whole team.”

“This [Finals] is also a test for the team to see if we have learned something from that defeat. Big Chill is a dangerous team.”

Big Chill arranged a title showdown with NLEX by dispatching Blackwater Sports after three games of their semifinal series.

Fernandez, who is making his sixth straight finals appearance, said he expects a tough series “so we have to really execute well defensively if we want to win another championship.”

NLEX holds an 8-3 advantage over Big Chill in their head to head duel, including a 97-88 victory in the elimination round.

“It’s gonna be a very tough mountain to climb,” claimed Big Chill coach Robert Sison, referring to their chances of beating the defending champions.

“But nothing is impossible,” he quickly added.

Sison said his troops will have to double their efforts – triple even – to be able to keep pace with the Road Warriors.

He hopes containing 6-foot-8 center Ola Adeogun and limiting NLEX’s wing scorers, particularly Garvo Lanete, would work magic.