NLEX survives Jamaal Franklin's 53-point explosion to tie with Converge in standings

The NLEX Road Warriors survived Converge import Jamaal Franklin's 53-point explosion to take a 116-112 win in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup on Saturday.

A Franklin triple trimmed Converge's deficit to just a point with 22 ticks left in the game, but free throws from Kevin Alas off a Franklin foul gave the Road Warriors a three-point advantage. Franklin attempted to drill a triple with nine seconds left but failed to connect, before a Wayne Selden Jr. split sealed the deal for NLEX.

Selden and Alas combined for 66 points, with the NLEX import making 35 points on top of seven rebounds and six assists. Alas, meanwhile, scored 31 from nine-of-12 and made 75-percent of his field goals.

Aside from Franklin, Maverick Ahanmisi and Kevin Racal were the only two players who scored in double digits for Converge with 22 and 10 points, respectively.

Both teams now hold 5-2 cards in the standings.

NLEX will face Meralco next, while Converge will try to bounce back when they go against Blackwater on Thursday.

The scores:

NLEX 116 – Selden Jr. 35, Alas 31, Rosales 17, Semerad 16, Ganuelas-Rosser 10, Doliguez 3, Gabo 2, Trollano 2, Paniamogan 0, Pascual 0.

Converge 112 – Franklin 53, Ahanmisi 22, Racal 10, Arana 8, Teng 7, Tratter 5, Ebona 4, Stockton 2, Balanza 1, Murrell 0.

Quarters: 23-28, 48-52, 80-80, 116-112.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News