Warriors exit the road with grace; Patang pavement bolts zap
Louisa Morales (Philstar.com) – November 11, 2020 – 3:22 pm
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – NLEX Road Warriors and Meralco Bolts scored wins in the first two matches of the last day of the Philippine PBA Cup elimination at the AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center on Wednesday.
The Road Warriors, unable to secure a spot in the post-season period, ended their journey in the PBA bubble in a big way after bunker residents TerraFirma Dyip, 127-101, crushed in the first game of the day.
Led by Kiefer Ravena and Raul Soyud, Road Warriors did an easy job for the hapless Dyip with five different players finishing two numbers to lead them to a 5-6 record in the bubble.
Ravenna scored the highest score for NLEX with 23 points in several minutes of play. He also had five rebounds and four assists.
Old Man Soyud, for his part, collected 16 points, five boards and fifteen cents.
Veteran Asi Taulava, whose retirement is still in the air, scattered 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Meanwhile, Meralco Bolts held back the NorthPort team he was also managing, 80-73, to bolster their hopes of finishing the top four in the post-season period.
Although Batang Pavement was able to shrink the lead in garbage time, Bolts were effectively controlling most of the game.
Bong Quinto led the way for a balanced team effort with 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Chris Newsom and Besser Amer contracted 11 and 10 points, respectively.
They now join four other teams with 7-4 identical records.
Up to seven teams can draw in second place to gain the advantage of two wins before reaching the quarter-finals.
The PBA quotient rule will be used to solve the congestion problem in the event of a tie.
