NLEX survives OT grind, outlasts Phoenix

MANILA, Philippines — Calvin Oftana and JR Quinahan saved the day as NLEX scraped past Phoenix in overtime, 114-108, for back-to-back wins in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Oftana drilled in two booming treys to knot the count in regulation then Quinahan scored five in extra time to salvage the fourth victory in six games for the Road Warriors.

Sophomore Oftana fired 22 to go with 10 rebounds and seven assist to help NLEX pull through in a wild match where they grabbed an early 19-point advantage but later found themselves needing to climb out of an eight-point hole to force an extension.

Quinahan finished with 21 in a splendid closeout job for Yeng Guiao’s charges, who maintained their hold of fifth position ahead of 3-3 squads Meralco and Magnolia.

NLEX also drew solid outings from Kevin Alas and Don Trollano, who combined for 35.

The Fuel Masters, who were paced by Matthew Wright’s 19, have now lost three straight to further plummet to 2-5.

Earlier, Baser Amer played the role of punisher against his former team, knocking down the game winner as Blackwater upstaged Meralco, 90-89, to stay hot in the tourney.

Amer, who spent five years with the Bolts before getting traded in 2021, hit the biggest basket of all – a dagger banked-shot with 1.7 ticks left that put the Bossing on top after a wild roller-coaster windup.

The rejuvenated Bossing thus extended their surprising streak to three games and at 4-1 overall, catching up with idle Barangay Ginebra at second spot behind San Miguel’s 5-1.

Amer (six points) finished off what top scorers Jvee Casio and Ato Ular, who had 19 points apiece, started.

“I told him (Amer) before the game that this is your game, tatalunin mo yung dati mong team. And he delivered,” said Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia, who purposely gave the ball to Amer in the crucial offensive.

“I told him, you’re gonna win this for us. So it takes a former Meralco player to beat Meralco,” he added.

Blackwater went up by 10 at the 5:28 mark of the fourth but with Bong Quinto going on a 12-point outburst, the Bolts wrested an 87-85 upperhand, 32.1 ticks left.

Casio put the Bossing back in front with his fifth three-pointer, 88-87, before Newsome made it 89-88 for Meralco with 6.5 seconds remaining.

In the end, it was the ex-Bolt Amer who decided the outcome.

With this, celebrated rookie Bossing Brandon Rosser got a winning debut after missing their first three games due to a finger injury. Rosser finished with eight points.

Newsome fired 23 for Meralco, which slipped to back-to-back losses and 3-3.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra (4-1), sans coach Tim Cone, shoots for a share of the lead with idle San Miguel Beer (5-1) tonight against Converge (2-4).

Cone has temporarily left the Gin Kings bench to join the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League.