PBA D-League: NLEX routs Cebuana to secure semis slot

After seven months of waiting, the PBA D-League Finals repeat between the NLEX Road Warriors and the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems finally took place on Thursday at the San Juan Gym. “Whenever it’s NLEX-Cebuana, it feels like a championship game. It’s like Petron-TNT or Crispa Toyota. It’s become a rivalry,” said Gems Coach Luigi Trillo. But just like the championship game last season, the Gems fell to the Road Warriors in an unexpected 87-69 loss. Birthday boy RR Garcia carried NLEX with 24 points and four assists to seal their place in the semis with an 8-1 win-loss record. Cebu is now in second place with 8-2. The Gems had to play without FilOil pre-season Defensive Player Awardee Yousef Taha who was back in the United States due to problems with his green card. The guard line was also chipped as Simon Atkins had a dislocated shoulder. From the first quarter, the defending champions set the tempo of the game, outrunning the Gems and forcing a lot of turnovers. In the absence of Ronald Pascual, the remaining two of the San Sebastian boys took care of the offense. Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang led NLEX’s transition attacks while Cebu struggled from the field, ending the first quarter at 23-9. Garcia joined in the party as he shone from rainbow country, connecting with the arc a total of four times. Cebu’s Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel, although both playing with minor injuries, tried to salvage their team in the second half. But just as they were picking up their game, head coach Trillo was thrown out of the game after a second technical foul infraction. Starting the fourth quarter with a 31-point deficit (70-41) and no head coach, the Gems had a short glimpse of hope. Non-usual scorers Chris Exciminiano and Marvin Hayes sparked a 10-3 run for Cebu. Jai Reyes also put in back-to-back threes, which was quickly answered by a trey from Garvo Lanete. The Road Warriors’ defense intensified as Coach Boyet Fernandez reminded his players in the huddle to “have no mercy.” Cebuana Gem Kevin Alas, who was playing his first game since his LA Slam basketball camp, was held to only three points and two rebounds. With only two minutes left on the clock, Abueva was also thrown out after two technical fouls. The NCAA and PCCL Most Valuable Player grinned as he was leaving the court, knowing full well that he already had a double-double performance with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Following Garcia, Sangalang contributed 18 points for NLEX. Manuel and Reyes topscored for Cebuana with 13 a piece. -- OMG, GMA News