NLEX goes undefeated en route to third crown

THE NLEX Road Warriors captured their third straight crown in the PBA D-League with a piece of history in tow after they routed the Big Chill Superchargers, 82-62, in Game 2 in the Foundation Cup yesterday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Aside from repeating once again as champions, the Road Warriors ended the season with a perfect 13-0 (win-loss) mark, becoming the first team in the neophyte league to finish with a clean sweep of all their games.

Eman Monfort, the smallest among the Road Warriorts, led NLEX with game-high 13 points. He also had seven assists and two steals, and steadied the team when the Superchargers tried to get back in the game.

In a game that featured poor shooting from both teams, the Road Warriors once again capitalized on their defense to seize control.

Big Chill had a two-point edge after the first quarter and held a 26-23 lead with 5:39 to play in the second quarter when NLEX went on 13-4 run.

Garvo Lanete ended that spurt with a fallaway shot over Jewel Ponferada to give the Road Warriors a 36-30 lead at halftime. They never trailed after that.

The Road Warriors also got 11 points from center Ian Sanggalang, and 10 point apiece from Kirk Long, Calvin Abueva and Lanete.

The Superchargers, who are making their first finals appearance, managed to keep the game close in the first 15 minutes but the lack of experience and talent took its toll when the push comes to shove. Raffy Reyes finished with 19 points for Big Chill. Keith Jensen contributed 15 points while Mac Montilla had 10.

BOX SCORES:

NLEX 82 – Monfort 13, Sanggalang 11, Long 10, Lanete 10, Abueva 10, Hodge 8, Garcia 7, Pascual 6, Co 4, Marcelo 3, Hermida 0, Suguitan 0, Dehesa 0, Ellis 0.

Big Chill 62 – Reyes 19, Jensen 15, Montilla 10, Mallari 6, Ponferada 4, Viernes 2, Collado 2, Villahermosa 2, Tan 2, Cortes 0./Correspondent Jonas Panerio