Road Warriors, Elite forge new title clash

Battling back from double-digit deficits, NLEX and Blackwater Sports disposed of their gutsy semifinal foes yesterday to arrange another championship showdown in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup.

Kevin Alas knocked in a clutch triple as the Road Warriors came back from 10 points down to survive Cebuana Lhuillier, 62-61, and complete a 2-0 sweep of their best-of-three series at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The Elite also staged a furious 16-0 assault in the second half to oust Jumbo Plastic, 91-86, in Game 2 of their own series.

Alas’ three-pointer tied the game at 60, before Ola Adeogun sank two free throws that put the Road Warriors ahead, 62-60, with 87 seconds remaining

“He (Alas) was missing his shots but I trusted him that he’d bring this team to where we want it to go,” said coach Boyet Fernandez as NLEX stretched its perfect run to 11 games.

Down by 12 points, 49-61, the Elite closed out the last three minutes of the third quarter with 16 unanswered points, half of them coming from Mark Cruz, to wrest the lead, 65-61.

Although the Giants tied it at 80, the Elite responded with Gilbert Bulawan, Jericho Cruz and Reil Cervantes burying crucial baskets.

The defending champion Elite and the Road Warriors, who also faced off in last year’s Finals, will clash in Game 1 of their best-of-three title series at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Both Ronald Pascual and Jake Pascual finished with 11 points and eight rebounds each, while Garvo Lanete also wound up with 11 points for the Road Warriors.

The Gems came close to dealing the Road Warriors’ first loss, but Alvin Padilla missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer.

Bulawan topscored with 22 on a notable 7-of-9 shooting clip, while Mark Cruz added 14 points for the Elite.

Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said their defensive adjustments in the second half clearly rattled the Giants.

“It worked wonders for us,” said Isaac. “They (Giants) were not able to break the zone [defense] and they were surprised.”

Cervantes finished with 13 points and nine boards.  With a report from Vinz Lamorena, Contributor

The scores:

First Game

BLACKWATER SPORTS 91—Bulawan 22, M. Cruz 14, Cervantes 13, Pinto 9, J. Cruz 9, Llagas 6, Ferrer 6, Manguera 3, Ciriacruz 3, Mangahas 2, Austria 2, Trollano 2.

JUMBO PLASTIC 86—Viernes 19, Cañada 18, Villamor 13, Tan 11, Ballesteros 8, Magat 6, Colina 5, Custodio 2, Dehesa 2, Parala 2, Petilos 0.

Quarters: 24-23, 43-45, 65-61, 91-86

Second Game

NLEX 62—R. Pascual 11, Lanete 11, J. Pascual 11, Adeogun 8, Alas 7, Dela Cruz 7, Long 4, Dela Rosa 3, Amer 0, Raymundo 0, K. Pascual 0, Ganuelas 0, Koga 0.

CEBUANA LHUILLIER 61—Gamalinda 20, Arellano 15, Padilla 5, G. Banal 5, J. Banal 4, Acibar 2, Leynes 2, Ilad 2, Zamar 0, Mangahas 0, Paredes 0.

Quarters: 21-11, 34-33, 47-50, 62-61