PBA-DL: Cebuana Lhuillier keeps NLEX winless

The Cebuana Lhuillier Gems blasted the NLEX Road Warriors, 71-64, in the 2013 PBA-DL Foundation Cup, Thursday, at the Ynares Sports Arena, to keep the defending champions winless in this tourney.

It was the Gems' first franchise win against the Road Warriors in seven PBA-DL games, and it put them at 2-1 in the standings, while NLEX remained without a win at 0-2.

In a game of runs, NLEX clawed their way back from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter on a fast break bucket by Kirk Long, 61-59. However, the Road Warriors couldn't connect from deep and gave up drives into the paint by the Gems' guards, dooming their chances to top Cebuana Lhuillier one last time.

Gab Banal led all scorers with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Raymond Aguilar and June Dizon corralled seven and four rebounds respectively, while each offering 12 points. James Martinez added 10 points and five rebounds.

"We just stayed together," said Cebuana Lhuillier head coach Beaujing Acot. "With this win on NLEX, we're back on track." He congratulated his team for beating the conference's defending champions, a victory he termed a "character-building" win.

In the first quarter, the Gems got the ball to June Dizon in the post early, and the big man scored six straight for Cebuana Lhuillier. In contrast, the Road Warriors struggled on the perimeter against the Gem's active defense. JR Buensuceso added a triple for Cebuana Lhuillier to give them a 9-4 lead.

The Gems' offense however tapered when they tried to involve their perimeter players. NLEX then found stops and picked off passes, resulting in looks in the open court for Kirk Long. The Road Warriors posted a 13-4 run in the last four minutes, highlighted by a three-pointer by Kevin Alas. Cebuana Lhuillier temporarily stopped the bleeding, as Gab Banal ended the quarter with a buzzer-beater, to trail by just two, as NLEX held a 17-15 lead.

In the second quarter, Ronald Pascual and EJ Camson were an inside-outside threat for NLEX, as the pair scored eight of their next nine, 26-20.

Banal kept the Gems in the game though, as he scored nine of their first 16 points. The Mapua swingman scattered his points from all over the floor, and drained charities to give Cebuana Lhuillier a 29-28 lead with under four minutes to play.

In contrast, the Road Warriors had a tough time against the Gem's halfcourt rotations. Besides a quick-hitter by Jake Pascual with 14 seconds remaining, they made only two buckets in the last six minutes: a fast break lay-up by Matthew Ganuelas, and a wild tip-in from EJ Camson. By halftime, it was the Gems who held a 33-32 lead.

After two quarters, Cebuana Lhuillier shot 12-of-29 from the floor (42.9 percent). In contrast, NLEX was only 14-of-41 from the field (34.1 percent), but got by on turnover points (9-0) and fast break points (5-0).


After an elbow jumper by Garvo Lanete, NLEX's offense nearly vanished in the third quarter. The Gems hounded them on defense, while dumping the ball to their twin towers, Dizon and Raymond Aguilar, on nearly every trip down. The pair scored eight of Cebuana Lhuillier's next 10 points, 43-40.

With around three minutes to play, Ganuelas drove for an and-one, and RR Garcia traded triples with Gerald Bautista to knot the score at 46-apiece. But Banal delivered for Cebuana anew, scoring their last four points, including a spinning baseline drive with 41.3 seconds remaining, to stave off the Road Warriors after three quarters, 50-48.

NLEX made only 4-of-21 from the field in the third period (19 percent), while Cebuana Lhuillier was 6-of-12 (50 percent). But the Road Warriors fared better at the free throw line, making all seven attempts versus the Gems' 4-of-11 clip (36.4 percent).

Aguilar punished NLEX at the start of the fourth, as the big man scored five in a 7-1 run for the Gems. In response, the Road Warriors clogged the lane and slowly worked their way back, as EJ Camson produced five points in a drawn-out 10-4 stretch. Long found a fast break basket, a easy opportunity in the second half, to get the Road Warriors within two, 61-59, with two minutes to play.

Unfortunately, a trigger-happy NLEX team misfired its way out of the game, while giving up consecutive drives to Paul Zamar and John Lopez. After Baser Amer missed a corner triple, NLEX fouled Zamar. The Gems guard made both from the line, 66-59, with 25 seconds remaining. Lanete made two triples with under 13 seconds to play to ease the deficit but Cebuana Lhuillier kept trooping to the line, keeping the game out of reach.

NLEX finished the game with a 24-of-86 mark from the field (27.9 percent), obviously hamstrung by 26 three-point attempts, of which they converted only four (15.4 percent). However, they did lead in turnover points (16-4) and fast break points (9-0).

The Gems made 22-of-51 from the field (43.1 percent) while out-rebounding the Road Warriors, 53-45.

EJ Camson was the sole NLEX player in double figures with 14 points and 11 rebounds, including seven off the offensive glass. Jake Pascual and Lanete each tallied eight points, while Pascual also had 10 rebounds. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

CEBUANA LHUILLIER 71: Banal 16, Aguilar 12, Dizon 12, Martinez 10, Zamar 8, Bautista 3, Buensuceso 3, Chiu 2, Padilla 2, Custodio 2, Lopez 1, Elinon 0, Bustos 0

NLEX 64: Camson 14, J Pascual 8, Lanete 8, Ganuelas 7, Long 6, Garcia 5, R Pascual 4, Alas 4, Villarias 3, Salva 3, Hermida 2, Amer 0

Quarter scoring: 15-17, 33-32, 50-48, 71-64