NO STOPPING THE ROCK AS NLEX WINS PBA DEBUT

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ASI Taulava is bent on following up a season to remember with a more unforgettable one.

The league’s oldest player at 41 years old waxed hottest in the stretch to lift the Road Warriors over GlobalPort, 101-96, Tuesday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-9 center scattered 12 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth period, spearheading an electrifying charge from an 80-89 deficit and into the win that is NLEX’s first since taking over the Air21 franchise just before the last season ended.

KG Canaleta drained two treys and Jonas Villanueva one in the decisive surge that netted the Road Warriors a 99-94 spread, prompting Taulava to point out it was a collective effort.

“We believe in one another,” pointed out Taulava, who had a sterling 2013-14 season that saw him power the former Express to a semifinals appearance in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup and a fifth place finish in the Governors Cup.

“It’s all about my preparation for the entire season,” added the man who went 13-for-17 from the stripe and also hauled down eight rebounds in realizing a victory for Adonis Tierra, chief assistant to Boyet Fernandez, who called the shots while the latter is still busy with San Beda in the NCAA Finals.

“If you notice, it was the old Air21 group we had on the court down the stretch because coach Don knows we can execute.”

Terrence Romeo, the youngest PBA player at 22, scored a game-high 33 points, one shy of his career-high, while top draft pick Stanley Pringle debuted with 14 points, five assists and three steals. But GlobalPort’s own season opener got spoiled when Taulava took over.

Main problems for the Batang Pier were their inability not only to adjust when the Road Warriors solved the former’s pick-and-roll offense and to execute down the stretch when the latter switched to a 2-3 zone defense.

“We told the guys to simply try and fight over those picks and when they couldn’t penetrate they weren’t also able to shoot down those three-pointers,” noted Tierra.

Indeed, GlobalPort sank a total of nine triples, majority coming when it razed an early 2-14 deficit and posted a 49-39 spread, but went a dismal 1-for-8 in the fourth period. Only Romeo was able to connect from deep that made it a 96-99 count.

But the Batang Pier would not score from then on while Aldrech Ramos and Macmac Cardona canned a charity each to seal the win.

Cardona laced his 20 points with eight rebounds, the last a crucial offensive one that stymied GlobalPort’s chances at trimming a three-point deficit in the last 21 seconds. He also had a nifty feed that Taulava converted into an and-one that proved to be the go-ahead play, 94-92.

Alex Cabagnot was the lone other Batang Pier in double figures with 23 points but he, like Pringle, went scoreless in the fourth. (NC)

The scores:

NLEX 101 – Taulava 21, Cardona 20, Ramos 16, Villanueva 11, Borboran 9, Canaleta 8, Villanueva 8, Raymundo 5, Camson 2, Villarias 1, Poligrates 0, Apinan 0, Baloria 0.

GLOBALPORT 96 – Romeo 33, Cabagnot 23, Pringle 14, Buenafe 6, Nabong 6, De Ocampo 6, Baclao 4, Isip 2, Jensen 2, Taha 0, Duncil 0, Ponferada 0, Cabrera 0.

Quarterscores: 25-29, 47-53, 70-76, 101-96

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