Thornton powers Road Warriors to big win over Elite

MANILA, Philippines --Al Thornton, coming to terms with the reality that he can no longer play with his knee brace, showed his worth as a former NBA star, and NLEX notched its first win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup in an overpowering fashion, blasting Blackwater, 106-79, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Tuesday night.

Without his knee support that he’d been wearing for years since suffering a meniscal tear, Thornton exploded with a 14-of-20 field shooting and 7-of-8 free throws for 39 points in a big turnaround from his 11-point struggle against Purefoods when his knee equipment was put in question.

“He didn’t start that game (NLEX-Purefoods) as we had to put extra padding on his brace before he was allowed to use it. He’s been using it everywhere he plays then it became an issue here. He’s messed up with that brace issue,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

“We had a pep talk after that and, thankfully, he understood the situation. He played with great guts, and now he knows that he can play without that brace,” Fernandez also said.

The Alaska team called the attention of PBA officials, saying Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel sustained injuries in collisions with Thornton’s hard knee brace.

With the NLEX locals rallying behind Thornton, the Road Warriors broke into the win-column in the mid-season conference, pulling off the most lopsided victory in the tourney thus far.

The Road Warriors made a big turnaround from a 25-point blowout by the Purefoods Star Hotshots and after earlier losses to Rain or Shine and Alaska.

KG Canaleta, Rudy Lingganay, Jonas Villanueva, Rico Villanueva, Asi Taulava, Borgie Hermida and Mark Cardona all scored at least seven points each in a balanced local scoring as they kept their supremacy over fellow PBA newcomer Blackwater, foiling the Elite’s bid for back-to-back triumphs following their huge upset of the San Miguel Beermen.

“We’d been practicing really well but it didn’t materialize in the game. Finally, we showed that we can win,” said Fernandez.

The Road Warriors won with aplomb, tearing apart a Blackwater team that was suddenly back on its struggling ways six days after a 80-77 shocker of a win over San Miguel.

Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Marcus Douthit had a woeful 5-of-21 shooting for only 15 points.

Overpowering Blackwater on all fronts, the Road Warriors raced to a 55-27 halftime lead and never let up all the way to posting their first win since their 10th place finish in the Philippine Cup marked by four triumphs against seven losses.

“Thornton was a big difference. Pinakita niyang malawak ang isip niya and his energy rubbed off to his teammates,” said Fernandez.