NLEX Road Warriors’ Robert Bolick against Barangay Ginebra defenders during a PBA Philippine Cup game. –PBA IMAGES
While TNT and Meralco continue searching for ways get out of slumps, their oft-unheralded sister team has emerged as among the top squads in the PBA Philippine Cup.
And on Wednesday, NLEX caught another big fish in Barangay Ginebra, taking a 17-point lead in the third quarter before hanging tough in the end to claim an 89-86 win and improve to 4-1 in the all-Filipino tournament.
Only Magnolia, unbeaten after five games, has a better record than the Jong Uichico-mentored Road Warriors.
“The good thing about our team is that we’re heeding to our coach’s desire [to make sure] everyone [has] the time to shine,” ace scorer Robert Bolick said after firing 28 points against the Gin Kings at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Bolick led the Road Warriors’ breakaway in the third that frustrated a Gin Kings side that is still searching for consistency. He also knocked down a huge three late in the fourth when their lead disappeared and Ginebra went ahead by three behind Scottie Thompson and Stephen Holt.
Then it was rookie Xyrus Torres’ chance to shine as he atoned for an earlier turnover by burying a go-ahead triple and putting NLEX back in front with under a minute to go. Torres and another neophyte in JB Bahio have been getting significant minutes under Uichico this conference.
Ginebra couldn’t score in its last two possessions and fell to 2-2 as its seesaw campaign in the early goings continued.
“There’s still time to make up for it,” insisted Thompson.
The victory over Ginebra was supposed to be the start of a rigorous stretch of games for NLEX, but the adjusted schedule of the eliminations due to Meralco’s entry in next month’s Basketball Champions League Asia as the league’s representative will give the Road Warriors a bit of a breather.
Instead, NLEX will next play lowly Terrafirma on May 14 at the same venue.
NLEX has more wins than TNT and Meralco combined so far as the two teams are currently in a slump.
TNT, though, finally got into the win column last Sunday with a win over San Miguel Beer and is favored to improve to 2-3 on Friday when it takes on Terrafirma at 5 p.m. at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
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On the other hand, Meralco tries to snap out of a three-game skid after a 2-0 start in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap opposite NorthPort.
