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MANILA, Philippines — The NLEX Road Warriors held off a furious rally by Barangay Ginebra, hitting timely shots late en route to an 89-86 decision in their PBA Philippine Cup matchup Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
NLEX lost a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, trailed late, but huge 3-pointers from Robert Bolick and Xyrus Torres helped push the Road Warriors to their fourth straight win.
Bolick spearheaded the winning team with 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Torres had 11 points. Big man Brandon Ramirez chipped in 11 markers.
With NLEX leading by one, 37-36, at the half, NLEX outscored Ginebra 30-17 in the third quarter to hold a 67-53 advantage heading into the final frame.
Slowly, the Gin Kings dug themselves out of the hole with a huge 12-2 run, trailing by just four, 65-69, after a triple by Stephen Holt.
Ginebra sliced the lead to one, 77-78, after a 3-pointer by Holt, but a trey by Torres pushed the lead back to four, 81-77, with 4:14 remaining.
Seven straight points by the Gin Kings, capped by a Scottie Thompson layup, gave them an 84-81 lead.
But Bolick answered with a trey to tie things up, before a jumper by Thompson pushed Ginebra back ahead, 86-84.
After turnovers by both teams in succeeding possessions, Torres found himself free, sinking a corner triple with 49.3 seconds left to put NLEX ahead for good, 87-86.
On the other end, Jamie Malonzo missed a triple. Torres was then fouled, but he missed both free throws.
In the rebound play, Japeth Aguilar tipped the ball out. Bolick, then, calmly sank both free throws after being fouled.
In a last-gasp play to tie things up, Thompson missed a corner 3-pointer after hesitating for a bit, sealing the NLEX win.
Kevin Alas added 10 points for NLEX, while Javee Mocon chipped in eight markers, six boards, three dimes, a swat and a pilfer.
Holt finished with 21 points for Ginebra, with all coming in the second half and 18 coming in the final quarter. Thompson chipped in 20 markers, six boards and four dimes. Malonzo and RJ Abarrientos had 11 points apiece.
“It’s good that we experienced it kasi we’re a pretty young team. And to be able to get some confidence in winning that type of game, that will pay dividends later in the end in terms of learning to deal with pressure. So, it’s good we got to win the game, we were up by double figures,” NLEX head coach Jong Uichico said.
Uichico also tipped his hat to his star guard Bolick.
“Knowing Ginebra, they have the capacity to come back, which they did. Stephen Holt really shot the lights out. He got them into the game. But that’s good that we also have a guy named Berto Bolick who carried the team also,” he said.
“Big shots, wanted the ball. That’s why you need a Berto in your team to carry the team when things aren’t going well, especially on the offensive end. When it comes to competition and winning time, Berto is always there to step up.”
The 2-2 Ginebra will take on the Converge FiberXers on Saturday in Pampanga, while the 4-1 NLEX will be back in action against the Terrafirma Dyip next Wednesday. — Ralph Edwin Villanueva
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
