PBA: NLEX heats up late, rips Kia for 5th straight win
Asi Taulava versus PJ Ramos. PBA Images/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—They are revving it up and revving it in style.
NLEX found the extra gear in the end game as it tore through Kia, 102-86 to notch their fifth straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday evening at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
It was an amazing fourth quarter for the Road Warriors as they took the joy out of the Carnival by limiting them to 14 points while scoring 33 points of their own.
NLEX used an 11-4 run in the final frame to subdue Kia and improve to a 6-4 record, good for third spot as Meralco, Rain or Shine and Talk N’ Text hold the second seed with identical 6-3 records.
Jonas Villanueva gave the Road Warriors a 11-point lead with a booming three-pointer from the left wing with 3:03 remaining and it pretty much sealed the win
Road Warriors head coach Boyet Fernandez said it was a tale of two halves for them after their miserable first half led to a much better second.
“In the first half, the effort wasn’t there, then a 360-degree turn on the second,” Fernandez said. “We did on our game plan against PJ Ramos which turned the game to our favor.”
Fernandez singled out import Al Thornton as one important piece in their second half puzzle. Thornton scored 25 points in the second half alone after scoring just eight in the first.
Fernadez added that he instructed Asi Taulava to focus on Ramos while Thornton does the scoring.
“Asi did a good job on PJ. I told him to just wrestle with PJ and Al will take care of the offense.”
NLEX had a massive offensive output from its players with five of them finishing in double figures.
Thornton led the parade with 33 points and 14 boards while Villanueva had 20 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Mark Cardona also produced 16 points, Rudy Lingganay added 12 points and Taulava a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
PJ Ramos once again led Kia with a ridiculous 41-point, 23-rebound night but got little help from the locals as the Carnival fall to 4-6.
