Ronald Pascual. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Ronald Pascual shot NLEX out of a shooting slump and past gritty Cebuana Lhuillier, 76-68, in the 2014 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Tuesday at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
The sharpshooting Pascual had two triples with his second 3-pointer a much-needed one for the Road Warriors, who were clinging to a precarious lead at that point, with under four minutes left.
Pascual scored 14 points with his trey part of a 13-6 run by NLEX, which is already assured of an outright semifinals berth, in the final 3:42.
“We have achieved our goal so I gave the players some rest. I thought they deserve it. But a win is a win,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez after the Road Warriors improved to 8-0.
“Cebuana did a good job of slowing us down.”
NLEX led by 11, 42-31, early in the third quarter before Cebuana Lhuillier rallied to within one, 62-63, with 4:04 remaining.
But a couple of costly turnovers and a pair of easy shots close to the basket coupled by Pascual’s big triple stalled the Gems’ bid for a semis slot.
Garvo Lanete and Ola Adeogun each had 12 points for NLEX. Paul Zamar shot a game-high 15 points for Cebuana.
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