THE NLEX Road Warriors wasted away a 20-point advantage and had to scramble in the endgame to hack out a thrilling 91-87 win over the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup yesterday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
NCAA MVP Ian Sangalang completed a steal in the waning seconds and found his San Sebastian teammate Ronald Pascual, who completed a three-point play with 10.7 seconds left that completed their comeback from a nine-point deficit in the final canto.
NLEX led 39-19 in the second stanza but fell to a maze of errors and missed shots, which JRU took advantage of. JRU remained ahead, 86-81, with 40 seconds to play but the Road Warriors persevered with RR Garcia’s three-pointer pulling them within one, 86-87, with 14.5 seconds left.
Then the JRU’s inexperience came into play and with it went the Bombers’ golden chance to win.
Kenneth Ighalo, who gave the Road Warriors’ big men a tough time off the boards, quickly threw the inbound pass to the unmindful Khazim Mirza that led to Sanggalang’s crucial steal.
The NLEX center quickly tossed the ball to the open Ronal Pascual, who nailed a 10-footer and fished a foul from Rocky Acidre./Correspondent Jonas Panerio