NLEX import Earl Clark (center) denies Cameron Krutwig's shot attempt as Mike Miranda looks on during their PBA Commissioner's Cup match Friday, Sept. 30. (PBA Images)
Kevin Alas sparked a huge rally late in the fourth quarter as NLEX battled back from a 16-point deficit and carved out a 105-102 victory to keep its record unblemished in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Sept. 30.
Firing blanks in the first three quarters, the Road Warriors finally got their bearings going early in the payoff period where they managed to cut the deficit to single digits before breaking through the Bossing’s barrier with a blazing 14-0 run that all but turned the tides to their favor to notch their second win in the same number of games.
Back-to-back baskets from Alas and NLEX import Earl Clark triggered the run before Alas found a wide-open Justin Chua in the corner who drilled the left pocket trey that gave the Road Warriors their first taste of the lead since taking a 3-2 advantage in the first quarter.
The earlier confident Bossing side then suddenly faltered and came up dry in their next few possessions allowing Alas and Matt Nieto to hit a pair of clutch baskets that gave them a comfortable seven point lead with 12 seconds to go.
Clark continued to display his NBA pedigree with 38 points and 25 rebounds which buoyed NLEX from the hot-shooting Blackwater which shot 41 percent from beyond the arc as compared to the Road Warriors measly 17-percent clip.
Alas provided the much-needed local support that had been missing in the first three quarters and finished with 16 points while Don Trollano and Nieto chipped in 18 and 10 points, respectively.
Interim head coach Adonis Tierra lauded the fighting hearts of his wards after struggling to implement the system of head coach Frankie Lim in the early goings of the contest. Nonetheless, he believed the game was the preparation the team needed before Lim fully takes the coaching role starting the next game.
“Malaking bagay ‘yung sistema ni coach (Frankie Lim) for the past three days, we are practicing well we are practicing great na adapt agad nila ang sistema but the good thing here even when we are trailing di bumitaw yung mga bata yun yung mga importante,” said Tierra.
Blackwater actually started out strong behind the impressive showing of Baser Amer who dropped 17 of his 26 points in the first half. Everything was going well for the Bossing as they shared the ball well evident with their 29 assists and three other players scoring in twin digits.
Import Cameron Krutwig provided another all-around effort of 18 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists while Rashawn McCarthy added 17 point built on four triples which all went futile in the end as their shooting just gone cold in the waning minutes while also failing to pull off all of the necessary stops to protect their sizeable margin.