NLEX pulls away late, deals Ginebra its first loss

Chris Ellis and Japeth Aguilar of Ginebra (light) vs Mark Cardona of NLEX (dark). NUKI SABIO/PBA

MANILA, Philippines — NLEX ran away in the fourth quarter to beat Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 97-81, in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Mac Cardona shot 25 points to lead five Road Warriors in double-digit scoring with Jonas Villanueva and Niño Canaleta adding 14 and 13 points, respectively.

“This win is not really on me. It’s on my players. We had a bad game against Talk ‘N Text but I just challenged my players at the defensive end,” said NLEX head coach Boyet Fernandez, whose squad forced 19 turnovers. “It just proved tonight that our players can really play defense.”

“The game plan really was to put pressure on their ball carriers and disrupt their triangle offense.”

Apart from its veterans, NLEX’s rookies Jeckster Apinan and Juneric Baloria also gave their team a lift. Apinan, the former Jose Rizal University forward, finished with 10 points while Baloria, who starred for the Perpetual Help Altas, wound up with eight.

The Road Warriors, who hiked their record to 2-1, trailed by four entering the fourth quarter but they turned their fortunes around thanks to a 35-point quarter where they just buried the Kings.

Chris Ellis had 19 points for Ginebra, which suffered its first loss in three games. Japeth Aguilar tallied 17 but made a lot of head-scratching plays in the second half after a brilliant first two quarters where he paced his team with 15.

Aldrech Ramos also had 10 points for NLEX and his 3-pointer sealed the game, 90-76, with 1:46 left.

A drive by Baloria put the Road Warriors ahead for good, 72-71, at the nine-minute mark of the final frame. Two free throws by Cardona followed by a basket by Apinan made it, 87-74.