NLEX neutralized Blackwater, 107-95, despite George King’s 40-point outburst for its first win in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Michael Griffin-Watkins had a double-double game of 26 points and 25 rebounds to lead the Road Warriors to their first win two outings.

More than the stats, NLEX head coach Jong Uichico said the Watkins’ presence was a big plus for them as they bounced back from their sorry 87-114 loss against NorthPort last Thursday.

“His inside presence gave Blackwater some trouble. I like the match-up problem for them. There’s a positive effect in Watkins’ inside game compared to King’s 40 points,” Uichico said.

“We told them to ‘Just don’t play like we played the other day’. It was embarrassing so we had a one-day preparation but it was the player’s adjustment in not wanting to lose that way.”

Watkins’ jumper with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter capped a 17-6 run by NLEX as they remained on top for the majority of the game.

The Road Warriors even padded the lead to 20 points, 100-80, after Anthony Semerad drained a triple with 5:01 left in the fourth quarter.

Robert Bolick bounced back big time for NLEX, having a double-double of his own with 23 points and 10 assists after only being limited to three points against the Batang Pier.

Richie Rodger had 14 points while Xyrus Torres had 12 points for the Road Warriors.

Apart from King’s monster game, Justin Chua was the only player for Bossing to reach double digits with 13 points as they sank to a 0-2 hole.