PBA: NLEX averts meltdown, beats Terrafirma in Kevin Alas' return from injury

NLEX nearly wasted a huge lead, but displayed composure in the endgame to take a 104-85 victory against the struggling Terrafirma in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Road Warriors are now on a roll, scoring back-to-back wins to improve to 2-1 as they welcomed back Kevin Alas, who returned from a one-year hiatus brought by an ACL injury he sustained in November 2023.

Alas, though, saw limited minutes and finished with just two points in his 10-minute appearance.

But NLEX didn't actually need Alas to help in the offense with Robert Bolick picking up where he left off as he detonated with 32 points on perfect 2-of-2 shooting from the four-point area while also grabbing four rebounds and five assists as they survived Dyip's fourth quarter comeback.

Bolick was coming off a 23-point performance during their 107-95 triumph over Blackwater.

"We gave up 55 points in the second half. So, they put themselves in that situation. It's good, yes, that they weathered the storm but there should not have been a storm," NLEX coach Jong Uichico said.

"A lot [will be pointed out in tomorrow's practice] because we will be playing San Miguel and Ginebra in the next games."

NLEX was in control of the game for almost the entire time, building a lead as big as 25 after Tony Semerad buried a three-pointer early in the third period for a 67-42 cushion.

But Terrafirma slowly crawled back from that hole and came within just seven points after a Kevin Ferrer triple at the 4:49 mark, 81-88. NLEX, though, had the necessary answers with Semerad firing another long bomb before his own putback sent NLEX to a more comfortable 100-85 advantage with just 1:19 to play.

Bolick then sealed it by nailing the dagger four-point shot over Tommy Olivario.

NLEX's reinforcement was a force on the paint after tallying 26 points and 30 rebounds together with four blocks and three assists while Xyrus Torres and Semerad posted 15 and 13 markers, respectively.

Vic Manuel paced Terrafirma with 22 points, five rebounds, and one assist while Aljun Melecio and Ferrer each had 10 markers in their third loss in as many games.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News