PBA D-League: NLEX begins title defense, catches fire late versus Big Chill

The NLEX Road Warriors formed a telling run in the fourth quarter, pulling off a come-from-behind 80-70 victory over the Big Chill Superchargers to start their title defense in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup, Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan.   Calvin Abueva contributed 20 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks for NLEX while Kirk Long made a rousing debut with a go-ahead three-pointer that led to the win.   NLEX used a 13-0 run in a six-minute stretch to come back after Big Chill took the lead for almost the entire game.

  Long hit a three-pointer, his only conversion in the game, with five minutes and 51 seconds to post a 69-68 lead for NLEX in the fourth.   Emman Monfort followed Long’s shot with another triple for a four-point advantage with 3:44 in the game.   “I’m just happy to get out with a win. We started out flat and our energy was down. But we stepped up our defense late in the third. Defense really made us win this game,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez, whose wards prepared for only two weeks for the conference.   Big Chill was protecting a 61-54 lead when Cliff Hodge connected on a two-hand slam with 1.5 seconds in the third. The Road Warriors got a break when the Superchargers failed to inbound the ball within the allotted time, leading to a turnover. Chris Ellis then scored off the Road Warriors’ inbounds pass for a three-point play and NLEX found themselves trailing by just two points, 61-59, at the end of the third.   Big Chill came back to take a 68-61 lead early in the fourth but the momentum shift from the former Ateneo guards, Long and Monfort, was too much to overcome, as the Superchargers scored just nine points total in the fourth period.   Charles Jensen chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds while Elliot Tan added 10 points in a disappointing loss for a revamped Big Chill squad hoping to go deep this conference, after reaching the semifinals of the Aspirants Cup.  - AMD, GMA News   The scores:   NLEX 80—Abueva 20, Ellis 16, Sangalang 13, Hodge 11, Monfort 7, Lanete 4, Long 3, Hermida 2, Dehesa 2, Marcelo 2, Belencion 0, Co 0.   Big Chill 70—Jensen 17, Tan 10, Ponferada 9, Montilla 7, Mallari 7, Viernes 6, Villahermosa 5, Santos 4, Collado 2, Reyes 2, Cortes 1, Custodio 0.   Quarter scoring: 21-23, 37-39, 59-61, 80-70.