“We don’t want a tie,” Guiao said after a 109-99 victory over GlobalPort on Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum that practically gave the Road Warriors a tie for a top four spot. “We want to be sure, because if you go to the quotient system, you can never tell.”
Aaron Fuller scored 33 points and had 20 rebounds and Juami Tiongson tossed in 14 of his career-high 21 in the fourth to power the Road Warriors to their seventh win in nine games.
In the nightcap, Barangay Ginebra needed an extra five minutes to repulse Star, 105-101, for its sixth straight win.
Import Justin Brownlee unloaded 33 points and hauled down 10 rebounds to pace the Gin Kings, who grabbed the solo lead at 6-1 and likewise inched closer to the next round.
Guiao believes they are just one more triumph away from a twice-to-beat edge in the first round of the playoffs.
“Being 7-2 is a good place to be at,” said Guiao. “But we need eight [wins] to make the top four and we don’t want to take chances with the quotient system.”
“We have two games left against tough teams in TNT (KaTropa) and Star, and if we get lucky enough in one of those games, I think it’s safe to say that we will be in the top four.”
Guiao admitted he did not expect this team to get to where it is at this point, especially after tweaking the local roster in the off-season.
“They (players) just jelled well,” he said. “We made a lot of hard decisions [in trading away some veterans] and we were really preparing for next year. The chemistry has been great.”
Murphey Holloway led the Batang Pier with 29 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, but GlobalPort sorely missed the 20.8-point and 6.5-rebound averages of Stanley Pringle, the other half of the team’s dreaded prolific backcourt.
Pringle had to rush home to the US to attend to an emergency family matter.
NLEX 109 – GLOBALPORT 99
NLEX 109—Fuller 33, Tiongson 21, Quinahan 18, Alas 12, Baguio 10, Mallari 8, Fonacier 4, Ighalo 3, Al-Hussaini 0, Lastimosa 0, J. Villanueva 0, Soyud 0, Taulava 0.
GLOBALPORT 99—Holloway 29, Romeo 24, Anthony 15, Cortez 9, Arana 9, Guinto 6, Cardona 4, Baracael 3, Mamaril 0, Hubalde 0, Celiz 0.
Quarters: 33-22, 56-54, 78-76, 109-99