The NLEX Road Warriors and the phenomenal performance by Kevin Alas helped them reach a decider contest on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena against the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots.
Alas, who did not play with NLEX in their first match against Magnolia, scorched the Hotshots with 30 big points on 11-18 shooting, 11 of those attempts were from three-point land where he converted six of them. Not only that, but he also had nine rebounds, four dishes, and a steal as he came as a non-starter for NLEX.
The NLEX squad took advantage of Magnolia’s subpar scoring that lasted for most of the game. The Road Warriors scored 25 points against the Hotshots’ 18 markers in the first quarter. In the second period, NLEX surged with 30 points and held the opposing team to only tally a poor 14-point quarter.
Magnolia was able to outscore the Road Warriors in the third period, but it was not sufficient enough to reduce NLEX’s winning deficit that racked up by as much as 26 points. In addition, the Hotshots did not have control of the contest from tip-off up until the final buzzer of the fourth.
Alongside Alas, Rosales was not also able to join the team in their battle against Magnolia in Game one. Both players were in health and safety protocols at that time. The backup guard pulled off two points and three rebounds in the winning cause for NLEX.
“Ang laking bagay that we have Kevin and Kris (Rosales) back. Ang bigat ng backcourt ng Magnolia, at kailangan namin tapatan yon. Kahit nga kumpleto kami, dehado pa rin kami. Mahirap kalaban ang Magnolia,” shared, Yeng Guiao.
Oftana nearly ended the matchup with a double-double output, registering ten points and nine rebounds. Semerad had nine points while Quiñahan, who came off from the bench, had eight points and five boards.
Magnolia and NLEX will have their third match against each other at the MOA arena at 4:30 PM in the afternoon.
The Hotshots were able to come within nine points after trailing by a huge losing margin by the Road warriors. However, because of the resilience of the backups of NLEX, they were not able to come closer and even take the lead.
“Team effort. Nag-deliver lahat from our guards to the big men. Ganoon din ang mga coaches, the coaching staff kept reminding us,” Alas said after the game.
Abueva led Magnolia with 20 points and seven boards while hitting nine of his 14 tries. Lee added 12 points while Barroca, who had an outstanding output in game one, only had four markers in the losing effort.
Sangalang logged in ten points and two blocks while Jalalaon had seven points, five rebounds, and a steal.