PBA-DL: Road Warriors romp over Rising Suns to take Finals game one

(Updated 5:09pm) The NLEX Road Warriors crushed the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns in an 87-63 rampage, Thursday, in the first game of the 2012-13 PBA-DL Aspirants Cup Finals played at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City. The Road Warriors are now one win away from going 4-for-4 in D-League championships, having lifted the trophy in the previous three conferences. Ian Sangalang led five Road Warriors in double figures with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Greg Slaughter added 11 points and four rebounds, and Nico Salva, Borgie Hermida and Garvo Lanete tallied 10 points apiece and combined for nine boards. Hermida also racked up 11 assists. [INFOGRAPHIC: How the NLEX Road Warriors and the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns match-up] In the first quarter, Eluid Poligrates and Mark Bringas scored all of the Rising Sun's first 10 points. But those baskets didn't come easy, as the Road Warriors dictated the tempo of the game with their defense. NLEX trapped and harassed Cagayan Valley, converting turnovers into fastbreak buckets. Halfway through the quarter, the Road Warriors were up, 18-10. NLEX then slowed the game down to work through Greg Slaughter on the low block. The big man was slow to warm up and Cagayan Valley took advantage on the other end. Edrian Lao, Raymund Almazan and Joshua Webb produced an 11-8 run to get Cagayan Valley within three, but RR Garcia made two charities with 19.2 ticks left to keep the Road Warriors ahead after one, 26-21. The Road Warriors held a 12-2 margin in fast break points in the first quarter. In the second period, NLEX returned to defensive form as they crowded the floor and denied the Rising Suns any makes from the field. Meanwhile, after quick hits by Slaughter and Salva in the paint, four more Road Warriors chipped in for a 13-6 run. Ian Sangalang then cleaned up a free throw miss by Oping Sumalinog to create their biggest lead yet, 39-27, with under six minutes to play. A lay-up by Bringas along the baseline gave Cagayan Valley their first field goal of the quarter at the 4:20 mark. But they couldn't keep up as Borgie Hermida took the helm for NLEX, scoring and assisting on eight of their last 10 points to push the lead to 49-35, at halftime. The Rising Suns were limited to a 3-of-13 mark (23.1 percent) from the field in the second quarter, and 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) after two quarters. In contrast, the Road Warriors made 9-of-18 attempts in the second quarter, and 19-of-35 (54.3 percent) in the first half. The tempo slowed palpably after the halftime break, and the Rising Suns couldn't shake off their shooting woes. Meanwhile NLEX still found scoring opportunities off good ball movement. Their first three field goals in the second half came off assists, including a no-look connection between Kirk Long and Sangalang to cap an 8-3 run, 57-38. Ping Exciminiano attacked the rim and scored Cagayan Valley's next three, but Kevin Alas replied with a triple to ignite a 13-4 sprint for the Road Warriors. Nico Salva scored NLEX's last six to take a 70-46 lead into the payoff period. Cagayan Valley caught a break in the fourth quarter when Slaughter and the NLEX bench were charged with consecutive technical fouls. A couple more calls went against the Road Warriors' way, allowing Joshua Webb to punctuate a 7-2 run with a trey, with under eight minutes to play, 72-53. But the Rising Suns couldn't make a decent stand and allowed the Road Warriors to get back on track, as the defending champs scored six in the paint en route to a 10-4 run as NLEX cruised towards the finish line. The Road Warriors made an impressive 31-of-51 from the field (50.8 percent) and tallied 20 assists. In contrast, Cagayan Valley were only 22-of-68 (32.4 percent) and assisted on only nine baskets. The Rising Suns marched to the line more times than their foes but couldn't capitalize, making only 16-of-38 (42.1 percent). The Road Warriors, on the other hand, made 19-of-27 attempts from the stripe (70.4 percent). NLEX also led in fast break points (18-9) and points off turnovers (14-9). Eluid Poligrates led Cagayan Valley with 15 points. Joshua Webb and Mark Bringas added 11 markers apiece, and Mark Bringas also notched 11 boards. - AMD, GMA News The scores: NLEX 87: Sangalang 15, Slaughter 11, Salva 10, Hermida 10, Lanete 10, Long 9, Garcia 6, Amer 5, J Pascual 4, Ganuelas 2, Sumalinog 2, Camson 1, R Pascual 0 Cagayan Valley 63: Poligrates 15, Webb 11, Bringas 11, Almazan 8, Lao 7, Forrester 4, Exciminiano 4, Celada 3, Pasculado 0, Cruz 0, Canta 0, Melano 0, Montemayor 0 Quarter scoring: 26-21, 49-35, 70-46, 87-63