Freego ousts C. Lhuillier; NLEX stays alive

MANILA, Philippines—Freego Jeans leaned on another set of clutch performers to complete an upset sweep of Cebuana Lhuillier in overtime even as NLEX stayed alive in the PBA D-League’s Aspirants Cup semifinals Thursday.

Alex Nuyles came through in the extension and Eric Camson drained the marginal free throws as the Jeans Makers stunned the second-ranked Gems, 69-67, to claim the first championship berth at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

“We were riding on our confidence from the first game,” said coach Leo Austria, whose wards also shocked the Gems in Game 1, 57-56, with Roider Cabrera hitting the game-winning triple at the buzzer.

Ian Sangalang and RR Garcia came to NLEX’s rescue in the other semifinal series as the Road Warriors averted an endgame collapse to survive Big Chill, 69-62, and forge a deciding Game 3.

Sangalang and Garcia teamed up for 10 of the the Road Warriors’ last 13 points to help put the defending champions back on top after blowing a 24-point advantage, 51-27, in the second half.

“They thought it was a won game already, but still, I credit the boys for sticking to our system and playing defense in the end,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez. “At least, they never gave up.”

NLEX and Big Chill will dispute the last title berth in a winner-take-all duel on Tuesday.

Nuyles drained 18 points, including five straight in the extra period that gave the Jeans Makers a 66-63 lead with less than two minutes left.

The Gems tied it anew at 66 before Camson, drawing a foul from Terrence Romeo, nailed two clutch free throws, 68-66, with just 3.7 seconds remaining.

Sangalang shot 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had two steals and a pair of blocks for the Road Warriors, who got off to a fiery 21-9 start for a 21-point spread, 41-20, by halftime.

Garcia had 15 markers to go with five rebounds and five assists, while Clifford Hodge wound up with a double-double of 11 points and 12 boards for the Road Warriors.

After stunning the top seeds, 83-66, in the series opener, the Superchargers nearly pulled off another upset when they grabbed the lead at 57-56 with 3:51 left.
But Garcia and Sangalang combined in an 8-0 spurt that propped NLEX up in the closing minutes.

“We won by a small margin, but it’s big for our team and I hope we can carry this over,” said Fernandez, who’s also looking forward to the return of fiery scorer Calvin Abueva in Game 3.

Abueva missed the game as he served a one-game suspension after getting slapped a flagrant foul category 2 in the opener last Tuesday.

The scores:
First Game
NLEX 69—Sangalang 21, Garcia 15, Hodge 11, Lanete 10, Eliis 4, Hermida 2, Arao 2, Monfort 2, Marcelo 1, Co 1.
BIG CHILL 62—Ponferrada 14, Jensen 12, Mallari 11, Reyes 8, Collado 7, Custodio 5, Maconocido 3, Dizon 2, Santos 0, Glorioso 0, Tan 0.
Quarters: 21-9, 41-20, 53-43, 69-62
Second Game
FREEGO 69—Nuyles 18, Alvarez 14, Lozada 11, Camson 8, Austria 7, Brondial 7, Manyara 2, Apinan 2, Sumalinog 0, Cabrera 0, Lopez 0.
C. LHUILLIER 67—Manuel 20, Llagas 18, Romeo 9, Celada 5, Taha 5, Alas 4, Hayes 3, Reyes 3, Exciminiano 0.
Quarters: 19-13, 34-32, 47-46, 61-61 (reg), 69-67 (OT)