NLEX blows 20-point lead, escapes Air21-JRU

Khazim Mirza vs Ronald Pascual and Matt Ganuelas. PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines—Three-time champion NLEX barely avoided a major meltdown as it escaped Air21-JRU, 91-87, Tuesday in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Applying the pressure, the Road Warriors forced a slew of turnovers resulting to key baskets, including a go-ahead three-point play by Ronald Pascual, 89-87, with 10.7 seconds left.

“It was on me,” said NLEX head coach Boyet Fernandez, taking the blame for his team’s collapse. “It was a lesson learned for the players and for myself.”

NLEX was in total control when it led by 20, 39-19 in the second quarter but hardly looked like a powerhouse team when JRU fought back and took a 78-67 lead after a 21-0 blast with 5:11 left.

“It was a wake-up call for us,” added Fernandez, whose squad was surprisingly held to without a field goal for seven minutes bridging the third and fourth quarter.

Sensing urgency, the Road Warriors locked down defensively, forcing the Heavy Bombers to a series of miscues.

RR Garcia uncorked a triple on his second attempt to pull NLEX to within one, 86-87, with 14.5 ticks left before Pascual completed the comeback four seconds later off a steal by San Sebastian teammate Ian Sangalang on the inbound pass by Kenneth Ighalo.

Still with a chance to pull off the upset, Ighalo threw another errant pass that went out of bounds.

Garcia sealed the game with 4.9 seconds left on two free throws.

Jake Pascual led NLEX with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Rocky Acidre and Khazim Mirza, who led the JRU rally, had 21 and 19 points respectively. Both had 14 markers in the second half.

Acidre nailed a triple that put JRU on top, 68-67, with 9:05 left.

The Road Warriors remained unbeaten at 3-0 while the Bombers drop to 0-2.