NLEX Road Warriors shoot for PBA D-League crown today

Game Thursday:
Ynares Sports Arena
3 p.m. – NLEX vs. Cebuana Lhuillier

THE NLEX ROAD Warriors gun for the crown in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup today in Game 2 of the best-of-three finals series against the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems at the Ynarez Sports Arena.

This as Cebuano forward Ariel Mepana of the Gems might once again be suspended for excessive physicality in Game 1 last Tuesday.

Mepana, a former stalwart of the University of the Visayas and the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños who now dons the colors of the Cebuana Lhuillier, delivered several cheap shots to NLEX’s energetic power forward Calvin Abueva in the first half of Game 1, which the Road Warriors won, 76-62.

First, Mepana hit Abueva in the belly then hacked him in the neck minutes later. Three minutes into the second quarter, Mepana struck again, this time he sneaked a solid punch that landed in the abdomen of the unsuspecting Abueva, who fell to the floor and grimacing in pain.

Mepana never got penalized on those contacts because the referees failed to see them.

But it didn’t escape the watchful eyes of PBA Commissioner Chito Salud.

Salud ordered a review of the game tape and summoned Mepana to his office yesterday.

Salud ruled that the punch that knocked down Abueva was a flagrant foul penalty 2 and penalized Mepana P7,400. Game 2 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio