It turned out NLEX had all the motivation to pull off the gargantuan upset over Barangay Ginebra on Friday, Nov. 25.
Facing up against the powerhouse Kings and with their tournament lives on the line, Road Warriors head coach Frankie Lim challenged his charges to step up and deliver the much-needed victory – to which his crew led by Don Trollano, Kevin Alas and import Earl Clark had responded.
“Medyo namo-motivate ako kapag kalaban ‘yung mga malalakas na team. Sa akin, sa lahat, super lakas ng Ginebra. I was joking around, sabi ko, 'Itong Ginebra, puwede na maging Gilas ‘to eh sa lakas,” said Lim after his team escaped with a 120-117 victory in overtime.
It was no secret that the Road Warriors were eager to end the series of futility especially after absorbing an embarrassing 124-114 loss to the already eliminated Terrafirma which also ended its own 25-game losing streak.
“I challenged my players na it’s nice to beat strong teams. Kita mo, nagsisisigaw sila ngayon sa dressing room for sure. Tapos natalo pa kami sa Terrafirma so wee have to bounce back,” he added.
To even spice things up, Lim even offered a reward to his team if they pick up the victory against Ginebra – something that proved to be the extra push the Road Warriors needed to arrest a five-game slide.
“Starting December, I was going to give them a break. And after that, we go back to practice. Practice kami the whole month of December dapat. Sabi ko give me a win against Ginebra, last practice natin is the 23rd, magkikita na tayo January 2 na. That’s a long break for them. I’m serious. I mean what I offer,” shared Lim.
With that in mind, Trollano poured in 20 of his 26 points in the third frame when NLEX created some separation before Alas, Matt Nieto and Brandon Ganuelas Rosser all made huge contributions down the stretch to support Clark who posted 36 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists.
“I think that was extra motivation. Even in my pregame, I included that. 'Sige, my offer stands. You get this win, you’ll get more than a week vacation, stay with your family during the Christmas season,” said Lim
With the win, NLEX stayed in the hunt for a quarterfinals seat but will still need to pick up a victory in its final assignment against Meralco and pray that other teams ahead of them lose their games and the quotient would fall to their favor to get at least a shot for a playoff at the No. 8 spot.