Jason Ballesteros of Jumbo (light) vs Pari Llagas and Gilbert Bulawan of Blackwater (dark). NUKI SABIO/PBA
MANILA, Philippines —Defending champion Blackwater Sports and NLEX may have taken different paths but the roads they took still led them to where they met last year.
The Elite survived a gritty stand by the Giants, 91-86, before the Road Warriors escaped the Gems, 62-61, as the two teams arranged a finals rematch in the 2014 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Tuesday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
“At the end of the day, it was our defense which carried us through,” said Blackwater head coach Leo Isaac, whose team started the conference at 0-2 before finally figuring out their beefed up lineup.
Gilbert Bulawan led the Elite, who battled back from a 12-point deficit, with 22 points while Mark Cruz and Reil Cervantes added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Road Warriors too, had to climb back from a double-digit hole after they failed to sustain a strong start.
NLEX six players with at least seven points led by 11 points apiece from Jake Pascual, Garvo Lanete and Ronald Pascual. Guard Kevin Alas had a horrible shooting from the field but he hit the biggest shot of the game.
Alas, made just three of his 13 attempts but his 3-pointer knotted the count at 60, with 1:56 remaining.
“Turning point of the game was the 3-pointer by Kevin Alas. He was missing his shots but I have trust on him and I know he will take us where we want to go,” NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez said after his team picked up its 11th win in as many games.
Ola Adeogun had eight points, nine rebounds and a flop that earned a foul called on Gems center Brian Ilad and two free throws for a 62-60 edge with 1:27 left.
Gab Banal sliced NLEX’s lead down to one and Lanete missed a game-sealing trey that left the door wide open for Cebuana Lhuillier to win the game with 10.1 seconds to go.
Alvin Padilla got a good look inside the paint but missed on a drive as time ran out on the Gems’ season.
“We just switched everything. That’s why I put Kirk Long there and I took out Ola. Just let them beat us on a penetration rather than a jump shot because Gamalinda has been shooting well,” Fernandez said on his final instructions to his payers on that crucial defensive stand.
The Road Warriors almost got beaten but not quite as Padilla’s shot rimmed out as Fernandez ran towards mid court and pumped his fists.
Bambam Gamalinda led all scorers with 20 points built on five triples on top of 11 rebounds for the Gems, who led, 60-57, with 2:13 left.
Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series between Blackwater and NLEX starts on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Blackwater is a very good team. We’re just happy that we’re here in the finals,” Fernandez said.
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