AFTER a close brush with defeat, NLEX vows to play no-nonsense ball against Informatics today and seize the solo lead in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at San Juan Gym.
Coach Boyet Fernandez said the Road Warriors may be loaded with collegiate stars, but the three-time champions will now stick to a short and tested rotation in their 4 p.m. match with the 0-2 Informatics.
“The players realized we got to have a system, and some of us will have to make sacrifices,” said coach Boyet Fernandez, whose boys blew a 20-point lead and slipped past Jose Rizal University-Air21, 91-87, last week as he tried to give everybody ample playing time.
Fruitas and Blackwater Sports, both bannered by dominating African centers, aim for back-to-back wins in the first game at 2 p.m.
Fruitas boasts of Nigerian center Ola Adeogun, who exploded for 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 91-90 win over Cebuana Lhuillier while Blackwater has Cameroonian slotman Karim Abdul.
But Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said Abdul is still adjusting with the Elite. “Right now Karim is still trying to fit into our system,” said Isaac. “We’ll see how he will fare against Fruitas.”
The Road Warriors, who are gunning for a fourth straight win, haven’t dropped a game since January this year and another triumph will stretch their remarkable winning streak in the league to 22 games.
“We are not taking Informatics lightly,” said Fernandez. “They have quality players and an experienced coach. So we need to play solid for 40 minutes and not by spurts. We also have to play defense if we intend to win.”