Road Warriors escape Giant Risers, clinch No. 1 seed

JOSHUA Munzon of Titan Ultra and Schonny Winston of NLEX chase the loose ball during their PBA Commissioner’s Cup game last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Road Warriors prevailed, 123-112.PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA

Published on:

05 May 2026, 16:19

Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5:15 p.m. — Macau vs Phoenix

7:30 p.m. — San Miguel Beer vs Terrafirma

NLEX formally clinched the No. 1 seed after posting a 123-112 overtime win over Titan Ultra in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Cady Lalanne erupted for 29 points and 20 rebounds for the Road Warriors who closed the elimination round with a four-game winning streak for a 10-2 win-loss record.

NLEX licks Terrafirma, secures quarters spot

It is only the second time for NLEX to finish as the No. 1 seed in the eliminations since doing the trick in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup.

But NLEX head coach Jong Uichico stressed that they can’t celebrate just yet as they will now shift their focus on the quarterfinals, where they will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage.

“We’re No. 1, and that’s something to be happy about, but it’s nothing to be satisfied with. We haven’t accomplished anything,” Uichico said during the post-game interview, stressing that their journey to their first PBA crown is just heating up.

“Anyway, we still have a lot of things to work on. It gives us an opportunity to get back to work on the quarterfinals.”

But the victory wasn’t easy.

The Giant Risers were trailing, 106-107, when Joshua Munzon missed a wide-open breakaway layup off a steal from LJay Gonzales.

Michael Gilmore split his free throws to tie the count at 107 with 10 seconds left. Then, Robert Bolick secured the rebound but Munzon stole it before missing a half-court heave that could have led to a massive upset as time expired.

It was all NLEX from there as Lalanne, Bolick and Schonny Winston scored 15 of its 16 points in overtime.

Bolick posted a triple-double output of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while Winston scored 24 points for the Road Warriors, who will face either Magnolia or San Miguel Beer in the playoffs.

Gilmore had a double-double game of 25 points and 18 boards for Titan Ultra, which will enter its last game of eliminations with a 2-9 slate.

NLEX No.1 seed PBA 2026