One on the road
BIÑAN—The wait for a first win is over for Barangay Ginebra and NLEX, which both needed victories to check their slide.
The crowd-favorite Kings, with help from Kevin Ferrer off the bench, peeled away in the second quarter and whipped Blackwater, 105-91, Friday night in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Alonte Sports Arena here.
The former UST Growling Tiger came off the bench and went on a 5-of-9 barrage from three to finish with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Ferrer’s hot-shooting fueled a 32-point second quarter for Barangay Ginebra, which built a 64-41 lead at the break that it never relinquished.
NLEX also had a sizzling start, building an early 19-point lead, but the Road Warriors needed a strong finish in overtime before holding off a stubborn Phoenix side, 120-115, in the earlier game.
Arnett Moultrie showed why he was coach Yeng Guiao’s first-choice import while Alex Mallari came up clutch for the Road Warriors, who opened the tournament with three straight losses despite coming off a relatively successful Philippine Cup stint.
“Our goal was to get a W and from here, we will take it one game at a time,” said Moultrie, quite aware that another defeat could accelerate their trip toward the exit.
Only eight out of the 12 ballclubs will progress to the playoffs after the single-round tournament and four losses pushes a team to the edge of elimination.
Moultrie had an all-around performance of 37 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists.
“We just have to be patient and focus at the task at hand,” Moultrie said. “I did a good job, but imports normally cancel each other out. My teammates were important in carving out this win.”
Among those teammates was Mallari, who knocked in five of his 13 points in the extra period for NLEX. JR Quiñahan chipped in 16 points, nailing all three attempts from beyond the arc as NLEX connected on 13 triples, three in overtime.
“We needed this win badly,” Guiao said. “It’s like we’re starting to learn how to win again. We felt like we forgot how to win.”
