Road Warriors complete first-round sweep

NLEX remained unbeaten in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors' Cup after holding off a determined TNT comeback for an 88-83 victory on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, completing a perfect first-round sweep of Group A.

The Road Warriors improved to 6-0 after overcoming a late rally from the defending champions, who erased a 17-point deficit and tied the game at 74-all with 7:03 remaining in the fourth quarter.

NLEX quickly regained control as LJ Gonzales converted a transition basket before import DeQuan Jones and Tony Semerad delivered timely scores. Semerad's basket stretched the Road Warriors' lead to 85-78 with less than three minutes left, and NLEX clamped down defensively the rest of the way to preserve the victory.

The win also served as a measure of redemption for the Road Warriors, who fell to TNT in the Season 50 Commissioner's Cup Finals. This time, first-year head coach Jimmy Alapag guided NLEX past his former team to extend its franchise-best start.

"Proud of our guys. It's not easy to win six in a row in the PBA," said Alapag, who became the first rookie head coach to begin his first conference with six straight victories, according to league chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.

Jones led NLEX with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Gonzales provided a spark off the bench with 11 points. Robert Bolick finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Deschon Winston, JB Bahio, and Enoch Valdez chipped in nine points apiece as the Road Warriors leaned on balanced scoring to withstand TNT's rally.

Winston also came up with a crucial defensive stop, stripping Kim Aurin in the closing moments with TNT trying to cut into an 87-83 deficit.

"The credit goes to DeQuan and the rest of our guys for continuing to weather whatever challenges we faced so far this early in the conference," Alapag said. "At the same time, we understand that there's still so much work to be done."

NLEX opens the second round against Terrafirma on Friday before facing TNT again on Aug. 11, with both games set at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson led TNT with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists despite shooting 25 field-goal attempts. Rey Nambatac, Glenn Khobuntin, and Brandon Rosser added 13 points each.

The loss snapped TNT's two-game winning streak and dropped the Tropang 5G to 3-3. They will try to bounce back against Titan Ultra on Saturday at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.