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NLEX’s Schonny Winston in action. PBA Images
MANILA (UPDATED) – The NLEX Road Warriors survive the Converge FiberXers, 119-107, to stay undefeated in the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
NLEX extends its winning streak to five games in Group A, powered by Schonny Winston's 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals on a 10-of-20 shooting clip.
The Road Warriors came out firing, with Tony Semerad leading the charge as they caught fire from beyond the arc in the opening quarter to build a 19-point lead.
But the FiberXers responded with a strong start to the second period, unleashing an 11-1 run, highlighted by a Mikey Williams four-pointer to trim the deficit to just five.
"I think in the second quarter, we went away from what made us successful that first quarter. You know, I thought their physicality, you know, went up a notch in that second quarter. It slowed us down offensively, and I thought we went away from our ball movement," NLEX head coach Jimmy Alapag said in the post-game press conference.
"I thought Schonny really, you know, kind of took the game over together with Berto in the second half to get the win... It was great to see them accept the challenge in the second half because I thought, you know, Converge played really well. I thought down the stretch we showed some poise and some resilience to get the win," he added.
It was a seesaw battle in the third quarter for both teams, but NLEX managed to steer the game in its favor in the fourth quarter.
Winston, Robert Bolick, and import DeQuan Jones took over in the payoff period to keep new head coach Jimmy Alapag undefeated in his first conference.
Jones finished with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Robert Bolick produced 19 markers and 10 assists to go along with nine boards.
Winston, who earned player of the game honors for the second straight game, gave credit to his former team.
"They're just a really good team. We just we know that they're going to go out there and compete. So we wanted to go out there and compete and match their energy or exceed it and just bring a lot of energy in this game," he said.
"I always know it's competitive. It's a competition. They're going to bring their best. We're going to bring our best. So, um, yeah, I just want to really emphasize how good they are as a team and stuff like that," Winston added.
Converge suffered its third straight defeat, sliding to a 3-3 record in Group A.
The Road Warriors will next face TNT Tropang 5G on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, while Converge takes on the San Miguel Beermen on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
NLEX 119 – Jones 28, Winston 24, Bolick 19, Semerad 15, Alas 14, Bahio 8, Gonzales 7, Valdez 4
Converge 107 – Franklin 26, Williams 18, Arana 16, Gomez de Liano 14, Baltazar 13, Stockton 11, Abueva 9
Quarter scores: 47-27, 21-37, 25-24, 31-19