Warriors rally past F Masters

Unbeaten solo leader

MANILA, Philippines - Erstwhile also-ran NLEX continued its amazing, relentless drive with a 95-91 thumping of Phoenix Petroleum and assumed an unfamiliar position as the solo leader with its fourth straight win in the PBA Governors Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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 Quiñahan delivered as the Road Warriors sustained their blazing run from the closing games of the Commissioner’s Cup elims.

The Road Warriors showed they were up to the task also in times of crisis as they  rallied from 10 points down midway through the fourth. Mallari and Lastimosa put the finishing touches on a come-from-behind victory that came after earlier 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, Quiñahan and Larry Fonacier through a carefully crafted trade deal.

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 great pretenders),” Guiao also said, adding they are to go through a real, tough test against Barangay Ginebra in their next game.

Reigning champ Barangay Ginebra returned as a determined bunch from an opening-game letdown and blasted GlobalPort, 124-108, later in the night.

Beaten by the Meralco Bolts, 78-93, in a grudge match a week ago, the Kings vented their ire on the Batang Pier whom they dealt a sound beating in the second half.

Obviously in utter frustration, Pringle and coach Franz Pumaren clashed in a verbal tussle during a timeout in the second quarter. “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 markers and Quiñahan rattled in 10 points 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, 68-78.

With NLEX slightly ahead, 87-85, Lastimosa attacked the basket, Fuller nailed a charity and Mallari knocked in a 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 (yesterday), Carlo Lastimosa provided the spark for us, Kevin (Alas) remained consistent, our import struggled in the first half but recovered in the second half,