Already ‘barely breathing,’ NLEX heaves sigh of relief after first win

BIÑAN — Kiefer Ravena welcomed NLEX’s 120-115 overtime victory over Phoenix as a much-needed relief as another loss would further endanger his side’s playoff chances in the ongoing 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The win, their first in four tries, was a big confidence boost for the Road Warriors who have struggled to sustain their good showing last conference.

“It’s really a big thorn that was taken out of us,” said Ravena on Friday. “We’re barely breathing. The water is already up here on our necks. We’re already in survival mode.”

The victory, however, wasn’t a pretty as NLEX lost hold of a 19-point lead in the first half and allowed Phoenix to force overtime before coming through in the end.

“We kind of played not to lose instead of fighting it out and really waiting for the final buzzer,” admitted Ravena.

Luckily, import Arnett Moultrie played his best game to date with 37 points, 17 rebounds, and eight assists.

It may not have been the best of games from the Road Warriors, but any win is welcome at this point for the team which has worked tirelessly to get over its winless start.

“We had 37 assists and I don’t know if it’s the conference-high. But it just goes to show the hours and hours of hard work and repetition that we put in. Everybody is stepping up and it’s all spread out. We had our usual numbers from our net which was very key to our victory tonight.”

Ravena, however, knows better not to get too overconfident as NLEX is looking at a long and challenging road ahead, starting on Wednesday against GlobalPort.

“We’ll take it. We’re in a situation where we couldn’t afford to be choosy. We just need to win,” he said.