RED-HOT ROAD WARRIORS KEEP STREAK GOING
A PROVEN prolific scorer like Al Thornton could not be held down for long.
The former NBA star proved this by shaking off his early shooting woes to finish with 33 points and lead NLEX in a come-from-behind 102-86 win over Kia Wednesday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Thornton went 7-for-11 from the field in the second half and got plenty of help from Jonas Villanueva, Asi Taulava, Macmac Cardona and Rudy Lingganay as the Road Warriors notched their fifth straight win to improve to a fifth-running 6-4 slate overall.
NLEX could even further improve its playoffs chances should San Miguel Beer prevail over 6-3 Talk ‘N Text later in the evening.
For sure, another win by the Road Warriors against Barako Bull on Tuesday would greatly enhance their chances of landing as high as a tie for second place that carries with it a twice-to-beat advantage in the next round.
NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez is not looking that far ahead.
“Just getting to the playoffs is okay for us,” said Fernandez, whose team debuted in the league at 10th after formally acquiring the Air21 franchise at the end of last season.
“Just getting to the best-of-three series is good for us,” added Fernandez, referring to the quarterfinal duels between teams which wind up the eliminations from third to sixth.
Not bad at all for a team that started this conference at 0-3 and stared at a couple of early 11-point deficits against Kia Wednesday night before going full throttle on both ends of the court for a big finishing kick.
“We really had a very bad first half,” admitted Fernandez. “The effort was not there. But we made a 360-degree turnaround in the second half in our defense.”
Hulking PJ Ramos led everybody with 41 points and 23 rebounds but was limited to just two points in the fourth quarter as Kia dropped to a 4-6 slate that tied it with idle Barako Bull at ninth in the standings.
The Carnival are now faced with a must-win situation against Rain or Shine on Sunday to boost their own chances of landing among the top eight advancing to the next round.
Kia would not have been in such a bind if more support came Ramos’ way. But only Reil Cervantes’s eight points and JR Buensuceso’s seven markers were the main contributions from the other Carnival players.
And then there was the timely explosion of Thornton, who made just two of 14 shots in the first 24 minutes of play but heeded Fernandez’s call and often went strong to the basket in the last two quarters.
Coming off a 19-point game in a 96-90 win over GlobalPort last Sunday — his second-lowest output this conference, Thornton finished around his tournament average this time and also wound up with 14 rebounds and three assists while getting plenty of help.
In his finest performance in the conference, Jonas Villanueva added 20 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Cardona chipped in a personal conference-high 16 points. Lingganay threw in 12 points, 10 of those in the second half.
Taulava also did his share as he scored 10 points and as many rebounds while anchoring the defense on the 7-3 Ramos, an effort that was rewarded only in the second half, with the help of his teammates who also ganged up on the Puerto Rican every time he got the ball near the basket.
“I told Asi to take care of Ramos and Thornton will take care of the scoring. It worked,” noted Fernandez.
Ramos even got a big scare when he fouled a driving Villanueva but got hit on the right calf, still 4:57 to go. He limped out, but returned to the game just 38 seconds later. By then, momentum was clearly on the side of NLEX.
Villanueva made the two charities and Thornton the last nine of his points and just like that NLEX was irrepressibly ahead, 97-84, only 1:20 to go.
Kia was seeing action for the first time since beating Alaska 103-89 March 3 and expectedly got off to a better start against an NLEX team playing its third game in a week.
Ramos already had a double-double at the end of the first quarter and sat on 21 points and 13 rebounds at the half, which the Carnival took 45-36.
Kia’s early lead actually stood at a high of 38-27 and the Carnival maintained the difference on two LA Revilla charities that made it 49-38, early in the third.
Then NLEX started reaping the fruits of its labors.
Led by Thornton, Cardona and Villanueva, the Road Warriors drew level at 68 and even briefly took a 69-68 edge before Eloy Poligrates and Ramos scored to give Kia back the lead, 72-69, going to the fourth frame.
Cardona’s triple opening up the final period not only tied the game up for the last time at 72 but also sparked a 12-1 run that gave NLEX the lead for good at 80-73. (NC)
The scores:
NLEX 102 – Thornton 33, Villanueva J. 20, Cardona 16, Lingganay 12, Taulava 10, Villanueva E. 4, Borboran 4, Canaleta 3, Raymundo 0, Camson 0, Ramos 0, Arboleda H. 0.
KIA 86 – Ramos 41, Cervantes 8, Buensuceso 7, Cawaling 6, Revilla 6, Avenido 6, Dehesa 5, Poligrates 3, Thiele 2, Yee 2, Alvarez 0, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 16-22, 36-45, 69-72, 102-86
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