Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
NLEX had the kind of start it was looking for after a big victory over Alaska to open the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday night.
Import Aaron Fuller made quite a first impression in his PBA debut, but it wasn’t just him who delivered for the Road Warriors.
Kevin Alas stood out with 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench, acting as the spark plug for NLEX, which won only two games out of the possible 11 in the Commissioner’s Cup.
“We’re happy we got the win but it’s just one game and we need to be consistent,” said Alas, who played inspired basketball.
The Road Warriors also started the Philippine Cup with a victory but went on to drop 9 of their next 10 games.
“We shouldn’t be confident that we won tonight. We need to continue to improve.”
NLEX was the first team to get eliminated from playoff contention and the Road Warriors used their early exit to their advantage as they were able to prepare early for the season-ending conference.
“It’s important for us that we’re able to prepare as early as June 7. The other teams were going on vacation but we were already practicing and building our chemistry.”
The locals were able to familiarize themselves with Fuller, who, at the same time, had an early grasp of his role and coach Yeng Guiao’s system.
The result was a 112-104 win with Fuller dropping 30 points and 20 rebounds.
“We just really need to be consistent. It’s okay to be happy with one win but we cannot enjoy ourselves too much. It’s just the start,” Alas stressed.