The NLEX Road Warriors is scheduled for a head-to-head game against the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters at 4:30 P.M. on July 30, 2017 live from Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Road Warriors will attempt to keep its unblemished record in the ongoing 2017 PBA Governor’s Cup and take the solo number one spot of the standings while the Fuel Masters are looking to re-group after a magnificent start.
One of the two teams that tested the new revamped lineup of NLEX last 2017 Commissioner’s Cup was Phoenix.
After the drastic change in its roster, coach Yeng Guiao squad is now on a roll but the seasoned bench tactician believes that they’re still not a contender team.
“It’s a good feeling to win this type of a game, the opposite feeling of a losing streak which we have experienced before,” added Guiao, whose tenure with the team also featured a 13-game losing skein spanning the Philippine Cup and the mid-season tourney.
“But again it does not make us a contender this conference. We’re not yet contenders. We’re not yet at the top level of the other competing teams, not even Rain or Shine, not even Alaska, which we also beat. We’re just having a good run.”
PBA Live Streaming: NLEX vs Phoenix (July 30, 2017)
One of the reasons why NLEX is surprisingly successful in this early stage of the third conference is Kevin Alas.
He is currently the reigning PBA Player of the Week and he’s also instrumental in RoS last game against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. That game needed two extra periods in order to declare a winning ball-club.
After showing his deadly long range shots in 2017 William Jones Cup, Matthew Wright went 0-of-6 in his Governor’s Cup debut against the Batang Pier.
Coach Ariel Vanguardia squad gave GlobalPort a scare when they made huge run and make a comeback after got trailed as much as 30 points. However, Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle able to protect the remaining lead and eventually still won the game.
“We got to bounce back,”said coach Ariel Vanguardia, whose Fuel Masters started off listless against the Batang Pier and trailed by as many as 30 points to have their unbeaten start in the tourney cut short at two.
“We can’t afford to start lethargic like in our last game,” added Vanguardia. “NLEX is playing great basketball. We’ve got to outwork them.”