The NLEX Road Warriors is scheduled for a head-to-head game against the NorthPort Batang Pier at 4:00 P.M. on October 21, 2020 live from the AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center in Angeles City, Pampanga.
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Both teams are still win-less inside the PBA bubble in Pampanga. Yet, there’s good and bad news for both of them, one team will finally get its first taste of victory this year’s All-Filipino Cup while the other, it’ll be “better luck next time”.
Probably one of the best highlights of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup apart from the coveted rematch of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the Meralco Bolts in the Finals was the quarterfinals duel of the Batang Pier and the Road Warriors.
Head coach Yeng Guiao and his NLEX squad carried a twice-to-beat advantage as they moved towards the playoffs last third conference. Yet, they faced the more energetic NorthPort which eventually eliminated them.
The Game 3 sudden match between the two ball-clubs not only exciting yet also historical as Christian Standhardinger broke the record of Kerby Raymundo for the league’s most minutes played by a player in a single game. Standhardinger notched 33 points, 23 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in that game which is why as early as the off-season of the 45th PBA Season, the Fil-German is one of the favorites to win this year’s Most Valuable Player award.
For the Road Warriors, it’s definitely payback time for them as the rest of NLEX team is also hungry to taste a win inside the PBA bubble.
In their last outing, they felt the third quarter surprise offensive strategy of coach Nash Racela and the Blackwater Elite. Their adjustment in the final quarter wasn’t enough for them to recover as they absorbed another defeat.
As a consolation prize for the Road Warriors, the squad has witnessed a breakout game from their rookie Mike Ayonayon who exploded with 20 points and six rebounds. That will be a relief to Kiefer Ravena knowing that apart from him and Kevin Alas they have another guard who knows how to deliver the scoring goods now that Jericho Cruz may be sidelined once again due to an injury.