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After big win over SMB, is NLEX now for real?

Sports | Basketball

After big win over SMB, is NLEX now for real?

By Reynald I. Magallon

At A Glance

NLEX's era under new head coach Jimmy Alapag is now doubt off to a dream start as they seized the top spot of Group A standings not only by preserving its 4-0 record but also by passing its first real acid test against a champion-caliber team like San Miguel.

NLEX’s era under new head coach Jimmy Alapag is off to a dream start after the team passed its first real acid test against PBA heavyweight San Miguel.

The Road Warriors jumped on the Beermen right from the get-go, stretching the lead to as many as 25 before holding off the comeback in the fourth quarter to give Alapag a perfect 4-0 start to his coaching career.

But does the win over SMB make NLEX now a legitimate contender?

The impressive campaign sure had put the league on notice but for Alapag, he has been saying that there’s still a lot to learn for his team and they just had a great experience playing against a championship team.

“Really proud of our guys. I think anytime you play a team like San Miguel, with all of their championship experience, it's always a great test for a young team,” said Alapag.

“I'm really happy with the spirit of our guys. I think games like tonight will only allow us to continue to grow as a team and as a family,” he added.

The 4-0 start for NLEX already ties the all-time franchise best conference start.

The last few times that Road Warriors achieved the feat was during the 2023 Governors’ Cup with head coachFrankie Lim and import Jonathan Simmons and the 2022 and 2017 Governors’ Cup under coach Yeng Guiao with imports KJ McDaniels and Aaron Fuller, respectively.

But for Alapag, if there’s anything that the win against SMB showed NLEX, it is the team’s resilience and poise.

“I thought we were very resilient, especially in the second half. (Don) Trollano is one of the best shooters in the league and he got going, but I thought our poise in the second half was great for the young team that we have,” noted Alapag.

“We were able to get stops and score when we needed to, to get the win,” he added.

Related Tags

NLEX Road Warriors San Miguel Beermen PBA Jimmy Alapag

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