NLEX rolls past Phoenix to remain unbeaten in Govs Cup

MANILA, Philippines — NLEX stayed on an unbeaten run in a big turnaround from being the whipping boy in the first two conferences, rolling past Phoenix Petroleum, 95-91, to gain the solo lead with a fourth straight win in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday night.

Aaron Fuller, averaging 29.0 points in the first three games, made only 18 this time but Carlo Lastimosa, Alex Mallari, Kevin Alas and JR Quinahan provided tremendous support as the Road Warriors sustained a blazing run from the closing part of the Commissioner’s Cup elims.

The Road Warriors rallied from 10 points down midway through the fourth, then Mallari and Lastimosa put the finishing touches in a come-from-behind victory that came after earlier their wins over Alaska Milk, Kia Picanto and Rain or Shine.

NLEX, with a poor 4-18 cumulative win-loss mark in the first two conferences, is now 6-1 overall since the arrival of Mallari, Quinahan and Larry Fonacier through a key trade transaction.

Phoenix, meanwhile, suffered a second straight loss after a 2-0 start in the season-ending tourney. Ironically, the Fuel Masters dropped their last two games since the return of Gilas player Matthew Wright.

“It’s a nice win for us and we’re starting to look like a team. We’re winning games in the endgame. We’re able to hold our own and we’re pulling through in crisis situation. It’s a good sign for a team that’s really just trying to put it together,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.

“We have four wins but hindi ko pa rin alam kung totoo ito o nagkukunyari lang kami (I don’t know if we’re for real or we’re just pretending),” Guiao also said, adding they are to go through a good test against Barangay Ginebra in their next game.

“It’s a good measure to see what kind of a team we really are,” he said.

Mallari and Lastimosa scored 14 points apiece, Alas fired 13 and Quinahan rattled in 10 as they helped negate Eugene Phelps’ hulking double-double game with 31 points and 18 rebounds.

Mallari and Lastimosa made the bulk of their outputs in the fourth quarter, anchoring NLEX’s fightback from 10 points down at 68-78.

With NLEX still nursing a slim 87-85 lead, Lastimosa struck on an attack to the basket, Fuller nailed a charity then Mallari knocked in a booming trey to eventually take the fight out of the Fuel Masters.

“Signs are encouraging,” said Guiao on their improvement.

 “Our focus is to get others involved. Today, Carlo Lastimosa provided the spark for us, Kevin (Alas) remained consistent, our import struggled in the first half but recovered in the second half, then there’s Mallari. That’s exactly the whole idea – to get contributions from a lot of players,” Guiao pointed out.

For Phoenix, Wright was the only guy to put in a double-digit output aside from their import. The Fil-Canadian gunner fired three triples and finished with 17 markers.

The scores:

First Game

NLEX 95 - Fuller 18, Mallari 14, Lastimosa 14, Alas 13, Quinahan 10, Fonacier 5, Monfort 4, Soyud 4, Tiongson 4, Taulava 4, Rios 3, Baracael 2, J. Villanueva 0, Al-Hussaini 0, Ighalo 0.

PHOENIX 91 - Phelps 31, Wright 17, Baguio 8, Jazul 8, Dehesa 8, Eriobu 7, Kramer 4, Intal 4, Lanete 4, W. Wilson 0, Alolino 0, Borboran 0.

Quarterscores: 14-15, 39-43, 64-69, 95-91