NLEX maintains cruising speed

NLEX kept its foot firmly pressed on the gas pedal and zoomed its way to a 119-107 victory over skidding Converge to stay unscathed in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Import DeQuan Jones scored eight in the Road Warriors’ crucial 10-0 run in the final five minutes of the final period to create significant separation on their way to a perfect 5-0 win-loss record in Group A.

Tied at 88 after the third quarter, NLEX outscored the FiberXers, 31-19, in the fourth quarter with Jones and Schonny Winston taking over the offense with a combined 22 points in the period.

Jones had 28 points and nine rebounds while Winston added 24 points, six boards, five assists and two steals for the Road Warriors.

Robert Bolick flirted with a triple-double after finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for NLEX, which led by as large as 19 in the opening period.

“I know Converge had a tough loss in their last game, so we expected them to come out and play really well and they did. But again, I thought Schonny took over the game together with Berto in the second half to get the win,” Road Warriors head coach Jimmy Alapag said.

Converge cut NLEX’s advantage to 105-103 after a Justine Baltazar layup with 5:28 left.

Jones answered with a basket followed by three free throws and a triple before Winston’s layup for a 115-105 advantage in the last 3:41 of the game. The Road Warriors stayed at a safe distance the rest of the way.

“We wanted to just stay composed and stay aggressive. Coach Jimmy wants the team to play fast. That’s what we ended up doing,” Winston said.

NLEX will try to complete a first round sweep when it meets defending champion TNT on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The FiberXers absorbed a third straight loss for a 3-3 record to end the first round.

Jamaal Franklin had 26 points, six assists, four steals and seven rebounds, Mikey Williams scored 18, Justin Arana got 16 markers while Juan Gomez De Liano finished with 14 points for Converge.