NLEX crowned PBA D-League champions anew, sweep Cagayan Valley

(Updated 5:32pm) The NLEX Road Warriors extended their reign over the PBA Developmental League by capturing their fourth straight conference title, via a two-game sweep of the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns. They won game two of the 2012-13 Aspirants Cup Finals series 82-71, Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena. NLEX fended off a persistent Cagayan Valley squad, until a Borgie Hermida triple put the game out of reach, 80-69, with 57 seconds to play. That gave the Road Warriors their fourth PBA-DL title, and a sweep of all of the hardware up for grabs since the league was launched in 2011. "I'm happy that we finished this conference on top. Thanks also to my players who stepped up. They've had a very long season and gusto na nilang matapos ito," said Road Warriors head coach Boyet Fernandez. "Hindi kami magkakasama sa mga practices dahil sa mga commitments ng iba, lalo na sa Gilas," said Fernandez of this season's obstacles. "Tapos na-injure rin si Ronald [Pascual] at si Ian [Sangalang]. So it's a sweet victory for us, for all the times na hindi kami magkakasama." Garvo Lanete was named player of the game and tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Hermida added 10 points and six assists, while big men Greg Slaughter and Ian Sangalang offered nine points apiece and combined for 13 rebounds and five blocks. The Road Warriors took game one, 87-63, last Thursday. [Related: Road Warriors romp over Rising Suns to take Finals game one] The game got off to a jittery start as both teams turned the ball over on forced shots. Eventually, the Road Warriors settled down and executed in the half court, but the same could not be said of their opponents, as ball-handling woes continued to plague Cagayan Valley. After a transition two by Kirk Long, all five NLEX starters had chipped in for an 11-0 run. The Rising Suns called a timeout, and Mark Cruz sank a long two on the ensuing possession. NLEX countered on the other end with another fast break lay-in by Long, and Garvo Lanete and RR Garcia added back-to-back treys to make it a 19-2 game with four minutes to play. However, the Road Warriors couldn't sustain the pace, allowing the Rising Suns an 8-2 run behind six points from Edrian Lao. Greg Slaughter had the final say though, cleaning up a miss via an and-one play with 13.9 seconds left to make it a 24-10 game after the first period. Early in the second quarter, the Rising Suns forced NLEX into several misses from outside. However they only slightly dented the lead on the other end, courtesy of plays by Mark Bringas, 26-13. But the pace soon picked up, and NLEX recovered from their slump as Greg Slaughter and Jake Pascual worked their way inside. Meanwhile, Cagayan Valley head coach Alvin Pua didn't do his struggling team any favors, as he was ejected at the 4:42 mark for committing physical contact with the sideline referee. Garvo Lanete hit the technical free throw to add to their tally, 34-18. The quarter devolved into a shootout between both teams. Garvo Lanete went on to score seven of NLEX's last nine, but the Rising Suns stuck around thanks to triples from Adrian Celada and Mark Bringas, as well as clutch baskets by Eluid Poligrates. By halftime, the Rising Suns had made some headway into reducing their deficit, 45-32. Lanete had 13 points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting, including eight in the second period. Poligrates scored nine points in the second quarter for the Rising Suns on 4-of-6 shooting clip from the field. Poligrates continued to wax hot after halftime, nailing consecutive buckets in transition, including an and-one play, to make it a single-digit deficit, 45-37. Ian Sangalang quickly countered on the other end and rang up five points on two plays, 50-37, two and a half minutes into the quarter. Both teams were scoreless on the following possessions, until James Forrester was fouled as he attempted a dunk on Sangalang with four and a half minutes to play. Cagayan Valley continued put up points this way, albeit inefficiently, from the sheer number of their attempts beneath the basket. On the other hand, NLEX found scoring opportunities as the Rising Suns overplayed the passing lanes. Free throws by Poligrates in the last 2.7 seconds though allowed Cagayan Valley to inch closer, 61-50. In the fourth quarter Cagayan Valley and NLEX leaned on Bringas and Long, respectively, to put points on the board. Both teams' interior defense had softened, allowing shots at the rim or chances at the line. However, the Rising Suns couldn't get the lead below 11 points, as  Lanete countered a triple by Celada with a floater, 72-59. Poligrates knocked down his second three-ball with under four minutes to play, sparking a 6-1 stretch for the Rising Suns. But they set themselves back with a goaltend, followed by fouling Hermida after he secured  a defensive board. Cagayan Valley was over the foul limit and Hermida made both charities, 77-65, with under three minutes to play. On the other end however, the Road Warriors were giving up free throws too. Celada made two from the line, then Nico Salva fouled Ping Exciminiano after an NLEX turnover. Salva was also slapped with a technical for resentment to the call, and Poligrates converted it from the line. Exciminiano split his charities, 77-69, with two and a half minutes to play. But after trading crucial defensive stops, a Cagayan Valley miscommunication left Hermida alone  on top of the circle. The point guard drilled in a three-pointer, putting the game out of reach of the Rising Suns. Joshua Webb snuck in a fast break lay-up to ease the tally with 18 seconds remaining, but NLEX got the ball to Jake Pascual on the other end, who flushed it through the rim to end the game with authority. NLEX shot 41.1 percent from the field, versus the 35.5 percent shooting clip of the Rising Suns. The latter were also outclassed on the boards, 54-36, including a 20-13 margin on the offensive glass. Cagayan Valley forced more turnovers (17-19) but were less successful in converting the extra possessions. The Road Warriors led in points off turnovers (14-5) and also in second-chance points. "I'm lucky to have a very supportive management staff, particularly Manuel V. Pangilinan, Mon Fernandez, and the rest of the MVP group. This championship is for them," coach Fernandez added. Eluid Poligrates led all scorers with 21 points and five rebounds. Mark Bringas added 13 points, while Adrian Celada tallied 12 markers for Cagayan Valley. All in all, the Road Warriors have won all of the D-League tourneys, specifically two Foundation Cups and now two Aspirants Cups. Prior to the game, NLEX center Ian Sangalang was named Best Player of the Conference. "Ngayon sobrang saya 'ko, wala akong masasabi," said Sangalang, expressing gratitude for winning both the conference championship and MVP award, a feat he hadn't accomplished in the NCAA. - AMD, GMA News The scores: NLEX 82: Lanete 17, Hermida 10, Slaughter 9, Sangalang 9, J Pascual 8, K Pascual 8, Long 8, Alas 4, Camson 4, Garcia 3, Salva 2, Amer 0 Cagayan Valley 71: Poligrates 21, Bringas 13, Celada 12, Lao 6, Almazan 5, Webb 4, Forrester 4, Exciminiano 4, Cruz 2, Melano 0, Montemayor 0 Quarter scores: 24-10, 45-32, 61-50, 82-71