By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The NLEX Road Warriors proved they can still compete at the elite level after handing the defending champions Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel a drubbing loss, 94-75, in the 46th season of the PBA Philippine Cup.
After a disappointing one-point defeat against the Rain or Shine Elastopainters, Kiefer Ravena and the rest of the Road Warriors were eager to make it up and they just did it against the stacked Ginebra team.
Despite the presence of the newly-acquired Christian Standhardinger for coach Tim Cone’s squad, NLEX’s head coach Yeng Guiao had other plans and made it a tough night for the former superstar of the NorthPort Batang Pier.
Guiao would deploy his signature defensive sets in the paint and mixed things up so that Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar had to earn their points the difficult way and it became the story of the game.
The presence of Raul Soyud, Michael Miranda, and JR Quiñahan smothered the combination of Standhardinger and Aguilar every time they would try to make their move in the shaded area.
NLEX’s backcourt duo of Kevin Alas and Ravena then answered the call offensively and combined for 39 points in limited minutes of action to help them grab their first win of the season.
Alas and Ravena were backstopped by Quiñahan who scored 10 while Don Trollano and Anthony Semerad each chipped in 11 points.
