MANILA, Philippines – NLEX cruised to an 87-69 victory in a heated yet lopsided meeting with Cebuana Lhuiller Thursday in the 2011-2012 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the San Juan Gym.
The Road Warriors clinched the other outright semifinals spot with the dominating win, finishing with a 8-1 record at the end of elimination, while the other semis spot is already occupied by the Gems.
Tempers flared, bodies collided and countless of technical fouls were called but it was a Cebuana Lhuiller ball game from the get go, building as a lead as big as 21 points early in the second quarter.
RR Garcia torched the opponent with five triples, knocking down one each time the Gems are mounting a rally, to finish with 24 points.
Ian Sanggalang, who jumpstarted the game for the Road Warriors with 18 points and nine rebounds while Calvin Abueva added 16 points and 11 rebounds before getting ejected.
Cebuana Lhuillier, which absorbed its second loss for an 8-2 record, simply failed to recover from the first quarter beating it got.
It seemed like a close encounter by second half, as both squads fought tooth and nail in each posession but the Gems were never able to trim the lead.
Jai Reyes and Vic Manuel led their squad in a losing cause with 13 points apiece.