Road Warriors run over Giant Risers to earn piece of PBA Ph Cup lead

Sports

THE NLEX Road Warriors banked on Robert Bolick to pick up a critical win, outlasting the Titan Ultra Giant Risers, 92-83, in the 50th PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday night, Nov. 17, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Bolick fired 36 points, 17 of them he dropped in the final period where the Road Warriors finally put the pesky Giant Risers away after a nip and tuck duel.

Bolick struck hard in the endgame, breaking an 83-all standoff with a banked trifecta then assisted Dominic Fajardo following a Titan miss as NLEX surged to an 88-83 lead inside the final minute.

Xyrus Torres and Javee Mocon then made four free throws for NLEX, whose win enabled them to earn a piece of the lead in the team standings.

Breaking a logjam at second place, NLEX joined Rain or Shine at No. 1 spot with similar 6-2 (win-loss records). Crowding the second place are Converge, San Miguel Beer, and TNT, which all sport 5-2 slates.

On the other hand, the loss shoved the Giant Risers to the brink of elimination as they fell to 2-6.

Calvin Abueva tallied 27 points in the loss while Joshua Munzon and Von Pessumal had 19 and 14 markers, respectively.

THE SCORES:

NLEX (92) - Bolick 36, Bahio 20, Torres 7, Herndon 6, Policarpio 5, Fajardo 5, Valdez 4, Mocon 3, Alas 2, Nieto 2, Capulong 2, Ramirez 0, Rodger 0.

TITAN (83) - Abueva 27, Munzon 19, Pessumal 14, Ular 7, Dionisio 6, Balanza 4, Yu 3, Melecio 1, Cuntapay 0, Monje 0, Ambohot 0.QUARTERSCORES: 23-19, 40-41, 65-65, 92-83.(CCM)