Road Warriors cruise by lackluster Gems for 6th straight win

Garvo Lanete of NLEX (light) vs bambam Gamalinda of Cebuana (dark). PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines — NLEX bolstered its bid for an automatic semifinals berth following an 80-68 drubbing of Cebuana Lhuillier in the 2014 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Monday at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.

Garvo Lanete led the streaking Road Warriors anew with 21 points as the defending champions cruised to their sixth straight win.

“We want to make the semis outright so we’re not taking any of our remaining game games for granted. I’m just happy my players continue to play with a lot of energy despite a short rest,” said NLEX head coach Boyet Fernandez after his team improved to 9-1

Former Letran standout Kevin Alas added 18 points a game after leading the Road Warriors’ comeback win over Foundation Cup titlist Blackwater with 23 points last Thursday.

NLEX ran away from a 28-deadlock thanks to an 11-0 run sparked by a 3-pointer by Lanete.

With the loss, the Gems (4-6), who were led by Paul Zamar’s 16, may have seen their faint playoff hopes go out the window.

The Road Warriors wind up their elimination round campaign against the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns, who secured a playoff spot with a win over National University Bulldogs earlier, and a pair of ousted squads in Derulo Accelero Oilers and Zambales M-Builders.