Photo by Celest Flores/ INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — NLEX reclaimed its reign in the PBA Developmental League with a masterful sweep of Big Chill on Wednesday before game 6 of the PBA finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Road Warriors nailed the Aspirants’ Cup clincher in game 2 with an 88-70 rout of the Superchargers to nab their fifth championship in the league after yielding it to Blackwater last conference.
That sorry loss pretty much fuelled NLEX in the third installment of the Aspirants’ Cup.
“This sweep is a redemption for our players because we were swept by Blackwater. My boys wanted to finish this today,” said Boyet Fernandez, who also pocketed as many championships.
Garvo Lanete, who joined the squad after his stint in the Southeast Asian Games, was named the conference’s most valuable player with a dominating performance for the Road Warriors.
“It’s a really a good feeling [to win again]. After last conference, we really promised to bounce back because there’s no way to go but up,” said Lanete.
The Road Warriors shook off the Superchargers for good in the second half starting with a 31-13 third quarter barrage for a 72-52 lead which they would never relinquish.
“Last finals was a lesson for us. We were leading at first but we lost, so if you noticed we didn’t slow down in this game 2 even if we had the lead,” Fernandez said.
NLEX nearly got the game stolen in game 1 last Sunday when a furious rally from Big Chill slashed the lead down to three late in the game. The Road Warriors won 79-75.
Same can’t be said today [Wednesday], though, as the Road Warriors never allowed the Superchargers to gain steam and was holding a 21-point lead with under a minute to play.
Jake Pascual, who was with Lanete in the Gilas cadet team, finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds for NLEX while Ola Adeogun and Lanete added 12 and 10, respectively.
The Superchargers, meanwhile, failed on their second title bid since the league inception even despite a spirited start in game 2.
Big Chill led 22-21 on freethrows by Juneric Baloria at the end of the first quarter. That was the last the Superchargers would taste the lead though they stayed within striking distance in the second quarter.
Dexter Maiquez finished with 18 points for the Superchargers, while MVP candidate Quinton Heruela chipped in nine points, nine rebounds, and five assists.