Here are the live scores, updates, and results of the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup between the NLEX Road Warriors and the Terrafirma Dyip, scheduled on July 25, 2021, at 7:00 PM.
NLEX was trounced by their previous opponent San Miguel Beermen on Friday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, 110-93. With the defeat, the Road Warriors slipped to a 1-2 record.
Kevin Alas led the tough loss with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists while fellow star gunner Kiefer Ravena came off the bench for 16 markers and 7 dimes.
Terrafirma, meanwhile, was defeated 86-79 by TNT Tropang Giga in their first match of the 2019 PBA season.
Terrafirma was able to trim the deficit to 5 points with two minutes left in the fourth quarter of their match against TNT, 79-84, but that was the closest it could come as the club missed all of its final three field goals.
The game marked the start of a new era for the Dyip, who just traded two-time scoring champion CJ Perez to San Miguel and selected Joshua Munzon as the No. 1 overall pick in the PBA Draft.
Munzon, however, struggled in his PBA debut, scoring 6 points on 3-of-15 shooting and 3 rebounds.
Terrafirma’s Aldrech Ramos led the team with 17 points, while Rashawn McCarthy had 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists in the defeat.
James Laput, a Dyip rookie, had a solid debut with 6 points and 9 rebounds.
The last time these two teams faced, the Road Warriors, capped at only 11 games for the season, managed to close out their PBA bubble campaign on a high note by smothering the Terrafirma Dyip, 127-101.
The Road Warriors, who were already out of postseason contention going into their encounter against the Dyip, didn’t look uninspired as they piled it on their opponents, especially after the half.
Kiefer Ravena controlled the tempo by scoring 17 of his 23 points in the second half for the Road Warriors, who took control of the game early with a 42-point third-quarter explosion. In just 23 minutes, he made 5-of-8 three-pointers and added five rebounds and four assists.
The All-Filipino Cup will proceed to the quarterfinals in its customary format, with the top eight teams advancing. Against the eighth and seventh seeds, the top two seeds will have a twice-to-beat advantage. Meanwhile, in a best-of-three series, No. 3 will face No. 6, and No. 4 will face No. 5. Best-of-seven matches will be played in the semifinals and finals.
Unlike last season’s setup, the league will have a closed-circuit system for the Philippine Cup this time, with teams, league employees, and the media encouraged to keep a venue-home pattern to limit COVID-19 exposure.
The games will be held four times a week. The conference is also scheduled to go through the end of October.