NLEX, TNT near sweep, semis

Sports

THE NLEX Road Warriors and the TNT Tropang 5G moved a win away from reaching the Final 4 after they nailed separate wins in the quarterfinal round of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday night, Oct. 28, at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.

The Road Warriors struck hard in the fourth quarter to flatten the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 124-117, while the Tropa once again dominated the Magnolia Hotshots, 91-73, as the winning squads built a commanding 2-0 lead in the separate best-of-five quarterfinal series.

Schonny Wilson and Robert Bolick produced big numbers for NLEX, firing 31 points each in the high-scoring win that followed up the Road Warriors’ 97-92 win in Game 1.

Phoenix exploded for 72 points in the first half but was a totally different team in the final to quarters where they managed to score just 45.

NLEX import Deonte Burton tossed in 24 points while Kevin Alas had 12 markers.

Marcellus Earlington scored 22 points for Phoenix with Kai Ballungay and Ricci Rivero adding 21 each.

TNT, on the other hand, got a huge lift from super import

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who piled up h 39 points, 15 rebounds, two steals, and three blocks.

TNT also won Game 1, 92-70, in what has become a one-sided series against a Magnolia team struggling to score points.

Magnolia shot just 25-of-74 from the field in Game 2. The offensive struggle has given the Hotshots a daunting task of beating the Tropa three in a row to keep their season alive.

THE SCORES:

FIRST GAME

TNT (91) – Hollis-Jefferson 39, Ganuelas-Rosser 11, Pogoy 10, Galinato 8, Oftana 6, Heading 5, Nambatac 5, Erram 3, Khobuntin 2, Jalalon 2, Castro 0, Quitevis 0, Ferrer 0, Aurin 0.

MAGNOLIA (73) – Buffen 24, Lucero 16, Lastimosa 13, Barroca 6, Sangalang 6, Alfaro 4, Andrada 3, Koon 1, Dela Rosa 0, Laput 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Gomez 0, Verano 0.QUARTERSCORES: 31-22; 51-42; 73-58; 91-73.

SECOND GAME

NLEX (124) - Winston 31, Bolick 31, Burton 24, Alas 12, Bahio 8, Semerad 8, Gonzales 4, Valdez 4, Herndon 2, Nieto 0, Torres 0.

PHOENIX (117) - Earlington 22, Ballungay 21, Rivero 21, Mamuyac 18, Tuffin 17, Tio 15, Escandor 3, Delos Santos 0, Santos 0.QUARTERSCORES: 35-33, 68-72, 93-94, 124-117.(CCM)