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RR Garcia made all but one of his 3-point attempts and the NLEX Road Warriors shot 60 percent from the field for 106-76 blowout victory against RnW Pacific Pipes on Thursday in the PBA D-League Aspiriants’ Cup at the Meralco gym.
Garcia, UAAP’s most valuable player two years ago, took just 10 attempts and nailed seven to finished with 21 points for the Road Warriors, who ripped the game apart in the second half. He highlighted his shooting clinic by going 6 of 7 from the trifecta zone.
It was the sixth consecutive win and seventh overall in eight games for the Foundation Cup champions (7-1), who have a chance to wrest the lead from front-runner Cebuana Lhuillier (8-1) in their much-awaited duel on Jan 12.
The Gems, though, have already secured their place in the semi-finals when Café France stunned Freego Jeans (6-3) on Monday.
The second outright semifinal berth has been reserved for the Road Warriors unless they drop their last two games, something jaded observers declared is next to impossible.
“You can never tell. Anything can happen. Bilog ang bola,” cautioned NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez, who considered the game against Cebuana Lhuillier “very crucial”.
“That game is all about pride. I’m sure they go for a win too so we have to be prepared,” he said.
Against Pacific Pipes, the Road Warriors were in total control.
They picked up their offensive rhythm early but had to play tough defense in the second half to repel repeated rallies by the Steel Masters.
“We played bad defense in the second half. So I cautioned the guys at halftime to step up defensively. I’m pleased they responded well,” Fernandez said.
The lead changed hands four times in the first 5:59 of the first quarter before Calvin Abueva (12 points) sparked an 18-3 run that put the Road Warriors ahead for good.
Pacific Pipes fell to 4-4 and hard-pressed to win their last two games to advance in the next quarterfinals.
In a display of excellent shooting, NLEX made 39 of 65 attempts from the field and went 13 of 21 from 3-point range as a team. The Road Warriors were also awesome from the line making 15 of 22 free throw attempts.
Jordan Sanvictores tallied 22 points and Raymond Ilagan had 14 for the Steel Masters, who shot just 43 percent from the field (29 of 67).
Pacific Pipes threatened briefly in the third quarter when Sanvictores nailed a 3-point shot that made the count 48-54.
But NLEX responded quickly. Chris Ellis fed Sanggalang for a lay-up then knocked a 3-pointer to spark a 20-7 run that pushed the lead back to double digit.
The scores:
NLEX 106 – Garcia 21, Lanete 16, Sanggalang 14, Abueva 12, Ellis 12, Belencion 7, Co 6, Monfort 5, Hodge 4, Marcelo 4, Dehesa 3, Suguita 2, Arao 0.
Pacific Pipes 76 – SanVictores 22, Ilagan 14, Buensuceso 13, Racal 7, Del rio 7, Miranda 5, Vitug 5, Delgado 3, Maiquez 0, Zulueta 0, Semira 0.
Quarters: 25-11; 48-39; 74-57; 106-76
Source: Dave Corros, PBA D-League
http://www.pbaddicts.net/t18034-make-it-6-in-a-row-for-the-road-warriors#321182
