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Road rage! 42-point fourth quarter lifts NLEX over Beermen

The NLEX Road Warrior got an epic 100-93 come-from-behind win against the San Miguel Beermen, Tuesday afternoon at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.

Down by 21 points, 64-43, with 4:21 left in the third quarter, the Beermen looked poised to grab their second straight win of the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup after falling in their first four games. However, the NLEX locals refused to give up. With their import Al Thornton on the bench, the Road Warriors started fighting back late in the third as they trimmed SMB’s lead down to 17 points at 75-58 to start the fourth.

Powered by the refreshed Thornton and Mark Borboran, the Road Warriors went on a 30-13 run in the fourth quarter as they knotted the score at 88 after two free throws from Jonas Villanueva.

Two free throws from Thornton and a three-point shot from Villanueva knocked out SMB’s chances as NLEX built a 93-88 lead. Panicking, the Beermen hoisted long shot after long shot but only one of their seven three point attempts went in the two minutes.

Thornton was named the Best Player of the Game with 31 points and 12 rebounds as he powered a 42-point explosion for NLEX in the fourth quarter. Asi Taulava added 20 points, seven rebounds, and three steals while Villanueva chipped in a solid 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Arizona Reid led the Beermen with 27 points while adding six rebounds and six assists but he failed to score a single point in the final quarter. Arwind Santos added 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while June Mar Fajardo finished the game sitting on the bench after getting 10 points and nine rebounds.

NLEX forced a tie with KIA at the ninth and tenth spots with their identical 2-4 record. The Beermen on the other hand fell to 1-5 for a tie at the bottom with Blackwater. SMB has a tough road ahead to make it to the playoffs as all their losses came from teams in the lower half of the standings.

The Beermen parlayed their success in their last game with a big first quarter against their first victim’s sister team. SMB quickly built a double-digit lead 22-12 with 1:33 left in the first quarter thanks to a basket from Arizona Reid.

The Road Warriors played much better defense in the second quarter as they limited the Beermen to 20 points. However, they still could not get their offense going as they fell behind by 13, 46-33, at the half.

After the first 24 minutes, Reid led all scorers with 16. Arwind Santos is experiencing a spike in his game with Reid as they import as he dropped 13 points at the half.

The Beermen attempted to break away from the Road Warriors but they remained stubborn in the third quarter. They fell behind by 21 points before cutting it down to 12. Their deficit climbed back to 17 points but the Road Warriors engineered a game-turning run in the fourth to steal the win from the Beermen.

The Main Man: Thornton was the focal point of the Road Warriors' resurgence in the fourth quarter. He provided the leadership and scoring that amounted to a win.

Honorable Mentions: Aside from Taulava and Villanueva, Borboran scored eight points in the game, five during their fourth-quarter run. Niño Canaleta only had six points but he grabbed crucial rebounds in the end game.

Game Turning Point: A defensive lapse cost the Beermen the match. With less than two minutes left in the match, Villanueva threw off two SMB defenders with a fake pass. Wide open, he nailed a triple that gave them a five-point lead.

Stat of the Game: SMB used only nine players with all of their starters playing more than 30 minutes topped by Reid who played 45. NLEX on the other hand used 12 players, 10 of those getting 10 minutes or more.

Next Games:

Meralco versus NLEX on Feb. 27 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum

San Miguel Beer versus Purefoods on March 1 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum

He Said It:

NLEX head coach Boyet Fernandez: The players won this game for us. I'm glad we were able to bounce back. Good thing SMB didn't make their three-point attempts in the closing minutes. In the end we made stops and that won us the ball game. I always tell the players to believe in themselves. In the first half, we allowed SMB to play their thing. But everything changed when we went zone in the second half.

The scores:

NLEX 100 - Thornton 30, Taulava 20, J. Villanueva 15, Cardona 9, Borboran 8, Canaleta 6, Lingganay 6, E. Villanueva 2, Ramos 2, Apinan 2, Raymundo 0, H. Arboleda 0.

San Miguel Beer 93 - Reid 27, Santos 20, Kramer 15, Lutz 10, Fajardo 10, Cabagnot 6, Ross 2, Lassiter 2, Tubid 1.

Quarters: 14-26, 33-46, 58-75, 100-93.