THE NLEX Road Warriors picked up right where they left off as they blasted the Boracay Rum Waves, 77-54, in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup yesterday at the Arena in San Juan City.
Behind a fiery second-quarter charge, the Road Warriors plastered the Waves to stay on course for an outright semifinal berth.
Chris Ellis scored 12 points while Dave Marcelo and Calvin Abueva tallied 10 apiece for the Road Warriors, who extended their winning streak to five games and improved to 6-1 (win-loss) record.
The Road Warriors made their intentions clear early. They were aggressive, dominating and assertive.
NLEX seized control by scoring 14 of the last 19 points of the opening quarter. It practically broke the game apart in the next period by outscoring the Waves, 23-7.
NLEX turned the game into rout in the second as the Waves shot just 18 percent from the field (2 of 11).
In the first game, Paolo Taha scored game-high 19 points and AJ Manadani turned in a double-double effort to help PC Gilmore repulse DUB Unlimited, 84-75.
The Wizards, who improved to 3-5, wind up their elimination round campaign against Blackwater (3-3) on tomorrow and against Boracay Rum (4-4) next Tuesday. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio