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When Garbo Lanete fed Cliff Hodge for a breakaway dunk to give NLEX a 10-point advantage with 7:40 remaining, it was clear the Road Warriors has turned the battle for the two outright semifinal berth in PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup into a three-cornered fight.
Hodge poured 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as NLEX pulled away for a 76-59 victory against Freego Jeans on Tuesday at the San Juan gym.
“We prepared hard for this game. Freego is playing well as team and we want to make a statement,” declared NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.
Indeed, it was a statement game.
The Road Warriors dominated the Jeans Makers throughout. They shot 50 percent from the field as compared to Freego’s 34 percent shooting. NLEX also enjoyed a 45-35 edge in the rebounding department and a glaring 30-11 advantage in the assist department.
Their overpowering performance rewarded the Road Warriors a fourth consecutive that brought them into second placed with a 5-1 record behind leader Cebuana Lhuillier (7-1).
The Road Warriors led 55-49 after three quarters but it stretched it to 12 points four minutes into the fourth as Freego Jeans missed their six attempts.
Freego Jeans, who appeared rusty coming off a 12-day break, never recovered after that and fell to third spot after picking up its second loss in eight games.
Calvin Abueva tallied 14 points and Chris Ellis dished seven assists for NLEX, which held Freego to 3 of 13 shooting in the fourth and pose a great threat to Cebuana Lhuillier and Freego in the race for the two coveted berths.
Lester Alvarez scored 18 points and Eric Camson added 17 for the Freego Jeans, which lost backup guard Jerrick Canada, who signed-up with an Indonesian team that will play in the Asian Basketball League.
Dave Coros
The scores:
NLEX 76 – Hodge 24, Abueva 14, Garcia 9, Ellis 7, Lanete 7, Marcelo 6, Sanggalang 6, Monfort 3, Co 0, Dehesa 0, Belencion 0.
Freego Jeans 59 – Alvarez 18, CAmson 17, Lozada 6, Monteclaro 4, Nuyles 3, Apinan 2, Brondial 2, Lopez 2, Cabrera 2, Austria 2, Manyara 1, Sumalinog 0.
Quarters: 11-10; 33-27; 55-49; 76-59
Source: PBA D-League
