NLEX may just be one of the most unfortunate teams in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup having to deal with the absence of its star backcourt in Kiefer Ravena and Kevin Alas.
And that absence was felt in the Road Warriors’ 117-106 loss to TNT Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao said they failed to match the firepower of the KaTropa, whose backcourt partnership of Jayson Castro and Terrence Romeo could easily exceed that of the Road Warriors’ Alas and Ravena.
“We really lack the firepower and when you play against a team with a lot of offensive firepower like TNT that’s the time you really miss Kiefer and Kevin,” said Guiao in Filipino.
Guiao, despite his team falling to a 2-5 record, chose to look at the silver lining of their loss to the KaTropa.
The Road Warriors fell behind in the second quarter, 51-30, but roared back in the third to get an 80-79 lead after a 50-28 run.
Although TNT managed to regain composure in the fourth building a 108-96 margin, NLEX once more managed to get back to the game after Alex Mallari went on a personal 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 108-104.
Unfortunately for the Road Warriors, Joshua Smith and Jayson Castro iced the game for the KaTropa exchanging buckets in the final two minutes for the 114-106 lead.
“Looking at the positive side, the guys gave their best,” said Guiao. “If we want to give ourselves a chance we cannot lose any single game anymore. You need to win all four to be assured a slot.”