AGELESS wonder Asi Taulava flexed his muscles down the stretch, where he made the crucial plays to help NLEX list its first win, 90-86, at the expense of gritty Blackwater in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
Taulava finished with a double-double and game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds, going 4-of-4 from the line in the final minute to aid the Road Warriors secure the victory in their season debut. NLEX joined opening-day winner Rain or Shine at 1-0.
‘’Sean (Anthony) stepped up, Asi (Taulava) made his free throws and we played tough defense in the second half and that really helped us,’’ said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez. ‘’We made some huge stops in the fourth.’’
Anthony himself had a splendid with a near triple-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for more production for NLEX.
With the game hanging in the balance in this grit-and-grind contest, the Road Warriors had the game’s most significant run when they erected a key 21-9 spurt in a six-minute stretch in the middle of the payoff period, capped by Mark Borboran’s basket from a nice dish from Taulava, to take a vital 85-78 lead heading into the waning minutes.
The Elite fought back with a 6-0 run, finished by Reil Cervantes’ basket to make it a one-point game, 85-84, for NLEX with 51.2 seconds left.
However, Taulava’s four free throws kept the Road Warriors in the driver’s seat, 89-86, with under 20 seconds left.
With a chance to tie and force overtime, Blackwater went to Cervantes but his triple with around 10 seconds didn’t find its mark.
Anthony’s split after getting fouled sealed the win for NLEX and the final tally.
Rookie Keith Agovida was impressive in his league debut as he led the Elite in scoring with his team-high 15 points and five rebounds while Cervantes added 12.
Blackwater, using its balance attack, actually had the scintillating start where it carved a several double-digit leads early in the second with its 11-point lead, 33-22, with eight minutes left before the half being the largest.
Refusing to allow the game to be out of its hands, NLEX countered with a 19-9 run to end the first half and trim its deficit to just a single point, 41-42, at intermission and make it anyone’s game in the second half.
From there, the two teams exchanged runs until NLEX was able to rise up in the crucial stretch in the fourth.
As of this report, heavyweights Alaska and Talk ‘N Text are currently gutting it out in their tournament debut to see who joins the early tourney winners at the top.
Meanwhile, defending champion San Miguel Beer opens its title defense bid today against much improved and dangerous GlobalPort at 5 p.m. in an out of town clash in Davao City.
The scores:
NLEX 90 — Taulava 19, Enciso 15, Anthony 14, Borboran 10, J. Villanueva 8, Apinan 6, Cardona 5, Reyes 5, Alas 4, Khobuntin 4, Arboleda 0.
Blackwater 86 — Agovida 15, Reyes 13, Cervantes 12, Ballesteros 10, Lastimosa 7, Gamalinda 6, Sena 6, Cortez 5, Canada 3, Erram 2, Golla 2, Bulawan 0, Vosotros 0.
Quarters:17-26; 41-42; 60-59; 90-86.