Former Philadephia 76er KJ McDaniels believes that he is finally blending in with the NLEX Road Warriors. The 6’6” McDaniels showed his confidence and trust with his teammates when he unloaded 40 points and hauled down 15 rebounds as the Road Warriors brought down the NorthPort Batang Pier, 120-113, in overtime Friday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
McDaniels drained 11 points in the extension, including six of the Road Warriors’ last eight points in the final two minutes to carry NLEX to its second straight win in the 2021 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.
“It’s a team effort. That’s what it comes down to. One person can’t do it all. We belong to each other. We come out and execute and follow a game plan,” said the 28-year-old shooting guard/small forward McDaniels.
He started making his moves right after Calvin Oftana’s putback put the Road Warriors ahead, 111-108.
McDaniels then hit a pair of layups and two freebies with 12 ticks left, sending the Road Warriors ahead by five, 118-113.
After that, Kevin Alas put the finishing touches for NLEX with his charities in the last six seconds.
“Today, he was attacking the basket. In the first game that he played, he tried out his three-point shooting. So, with those two things put together, they’re weapons that he can use, and the defense is going to have a problem with him,” said Road Warriors’ coach Yeng Guiao.
Alas tallied 21 points for the Road Warriors, who forced the extra period at 102-all after he unloaded three charities in the final second of regulation.
Greg Slaughter topscored for the winless NorthPort with 22 points, while Arwind Santos added 20 and Robert Bolick shot 20.
Santos came up with another big effort when he made 12 points in the last period as the Batang Pier fought their way out of 75-84 third-quarter deficit. A trey from Santos with 5:53 to go saw NorthPort ahead by five, 91-86.