PBA-DL: NLEX survive upset-minded JRU; Blackwater notch first win

The NLEX Road Warriors showed grace under fire, upending the Air21 JRU Heavy Bombers late, while Blackwater Sports earned their first win of the season, in separate games, Tuesday at the Ynares Sports Arena, in PBA Developmental League play. Air21 JRU (0-2) showed no fear, pitted against the reigning PBA-DL champs NLEX (3-0), but the latter's poise and experience allowed them to rally late, as the Road Warriors survived a 91-87 affair. NLEX opened up with a commanding 11-3 lead and were ahead by as much as 20 points, 39-19, before settling for a halftime score of 45-33, but out of the break, the Heavy Bombers looked like a different team, getting their deficit down to single digits with 4:33 left, after back-to-back hits by Prince Caperal and Dexter Maiquez made it 55-48. A triple by RR Garcia and a basket by Nico Salva made it a 10-point game agin, 63-53, but JRU got the better end of a flurry of baskets from both teams, eating further away into their deficit, to trail by just four points, 67-63 with a quarter remaining. In the fourth, the Heavy Bombers exploded for seven straight, to take a three-point lead at the 8:36 mark, courtesy of connections from Rocky Acidre and Khasim Mirza. The former would team up with Dexter Maiquez to pile on to their advantage, stretching it to 76-67, before NLEX finally whistles for a timeout. Another Mirza basket gave his side a double-digit lead, 78-67, before NLEX finally woke up. Seven straight NLEX points, kickstarted by charities from Kevin Alas, got the Road Warriors on the board for the first time in the fourth, making it 78-74, before Khasim Mirza made it a six-point game, 80-74. With under a minute left, Ronald Pascual connected on a long two, off a timeout, to make it a single possession game, though it was countered by a split at the line by Acidre. Garcia then knocked in another big trey to make it a one-point affair, and then JRU did themselves no favors, as Kenneth Ighalo turned the ball over on the inbounds. Ian Sangalang, who came up with the steal, then found his San Sebastian College teammate Pascual, who made the short jumper, while drawing a foul. He completed the and-one play to give his side a two-point lead, 89-87. After an empty JRU possession, Garcia was able to ice the game at the line, with another pair of free throws, to keep his team's record spotless. NLEX was led by Jake Pascual's 17 points and 10 rebounds, while starting center Ian Sangalang had 15 points and six boards. Garcia and Pascual added 10 and 9 points more, respectively. JRU was led by Rocky Acidre's 21 points on an 8-of-11 clip. Khasim Mirza added 19, while Dexter Maiquez and Kenneth Ighalo combined for 25 points and 19 rebounds. Vergel Meneses' charges shot a blistering 55.6 percent from the field, while holding NLEX to just 43.6 percent shooting. However, the Road Warriors were just more composed, committing only 12 turnovers, while turning 21 JRU miscues into 25 points. In the second game, Blackwater Sports (1-1) shut down the Boracay Rum Waves (0-4) in an 84-60 rout. The Waves' offense was so toothless that Blackwater scored more points in the second quarter, 28, than Boracay Rum in the second and third quarters combined, 21. Kevin Ferrer led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, in addition to eight rebounds. Justin Chua and Ian Mazo added 12 points each off the bench. Boracay Rum drew 16 points from Paolo Taha, and another 11 from Toto Bandaying, but the team as a whole shot just 30.7 percent from the field, missing more than half their shots.  - AMD, GMA News The scores: First game: NLEX 91 - J. Pascual 17, Sanggalan 15, Garcia 10, Pacual R. 9, Lanete 9, Alas 8, Camson 7, Salva 6, Long 4, Sumalinog 4, Hermida 2, Amer 0, Ganuelas 0 AIR21 JRU 87 – Acidre 21, Mirza 19, Maiquez 14, Ighalo 11, Pinto 8, Miranda 6, Caperal 4, Villarias 2, Apinan 2, Lopez 0, Almario 0 Quarter scoring: 26-17, 45-33, 67-63, 91-87   Second game: Blackwater 84 – Ferrer 17, Chua 12, Mazo 12, Fortuna 9, Celiz 8, Llagas 6, G. Ciriacruz 6, Bagatsing 5, I. Ciriacruz 4, Mangahas 3, Abdul 2, Lo 0 Boracay Rum 60 – Taha 16, Bandaying 11, Acibar 9, Santos 7, Ilagan 7, Siruma 4, Rosopa 2, Cabrera 2, Sabellina 2, Tolentino 0, Viernes 0, Eguilos 0, Foronda 0 Quarter scoring: 20-15, 48-25, 65-36, 84-60