MANILA, Philippines—NLEX survived a furious rally by Big Chill in the third quarter and hacked out a 69-62 triumph Thursday to forge a winner-take-all game 3 in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup semifinals at the Ynares Sports Arena.
The Road Warriors, pushed to the hilt by the Superchargers after squandering a 24-point advantage, leaned on clutch scoring from Ryan Garcia and Ian Sangalang and sticky team defending to salvage the win.
“I credit the boys for sticking to your system and playing defense until the end,” said head coach Boyet Fernandez.
Ian Sangalang churned in 21 points and eight rebounds, along with two steals and two blocks and capped his display with a teardrop shot with 1:50 left, which gave NLEX a seven-point cushion.
Sangalang, the lone operating Stag in the line-up with Calvin Abueva suspended and Ronald Pascual sidelined, also came up with a crucial board off his own missed free throw, which iced the game with 20 seconds left.
Garcia added 15 points, with five rebounds and five assists, in helping NLEX recover the momentum in the payoff period where they first lost their edge, 57-56.
“We relaxed, but in the end, that’s the character of our team, we never gave up,” Fernandez said.
The Superchargers, meanwhile, continue to prove they are capable of slaying the powerhouse Road Warriors as they turned a rout at halftime to a one-possession game by the last three minutes of play.
Big Chill, spearheaded by Jewel Ponferrada and Charles Jensen, demolished the whopping lead and outscored NLEX in the third quarter 23-12 before snatching the lead away with 3:57 left.
But the lead was short-lived as they Superchargers failed to sink baskets down the stretch and allowed the Road Warriors to score on the other end.
Ponferrada had 14 points and 13 rebounds while Charles Jensen added 12 points and six rebounds.
Game 3 is set for Tuesday at the San Juan Arena and the winner will advance to the finals, facing the victor of the Cebuana Lhuiller-Freego Jeans series.