Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — Forty-two-year-old center Asi Taulava played like he’s still in the prime of his youth as his NLEX Road Warriors nipped sister team Meralco Bolts, 93-91, Tuesday in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Taulava finished with 22 points and 21 rebounds, seven of them offensive boards, as the Road Warriors climbed up to solo fourth place with their 4-2 win-loss card.
The loss was Meralco’s sixth against a single win, keeping the Bolts at the bottom of the pack.
Jonas Villanueva also caught fire with 19 points, 12 of them in the crucial fourth quarter. Sean Anthony and Kevin Alas added 17 and 16 respectively for NLEX.
Rookie Chris Newsome starred for Meralco with a smashing 21-point, four-rebound and four-assist performance. Gary David added 19 markers while Cliff Hodge chipped in with 14. Big men Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Brian Faundo chimed in 10 points each.
Miseries continued to hound Meralco, falling anew despite having five players in double digits.
The two teams played a nip-and-tuck game but the Road Warriors proved steadier in the endgame.
After Anthony split his charities to give NLEX an 85-81 lead with just 2:44 left, Newsome scored on a three-point play as Meralco cut the deficit to 85-84.
But Villanueva answered with a booming three-pointer and then another basket on a drive seconds later, giving NLEX a 90-84 advantage with only 1:24 left.
Newsome and David both sank their free throws as the Bolts closed in again, 90-88, with a minute.
After a defensive stop, David coolly swished in a three-pointer as the Bolts grabbed the lead, 91-90.
Anthony was fouled and he sank both charities as NLEX regained the lead, 92-91. The Bolts turned the ball over and Alas split his free throws to up NLEX’s edge to 93-91.
Meralco still had one last chance to tie the score or win outright with a three-pointer, but rookie Baser Amer missed his shot as time expired.
Games Wednesday: Blackwater Elite (1-4) vs. Talk N Text Tropang Texters (3-2) and GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-2) vs. Barangay Ginebra Kings (3-3).
Alaska 107, Star 102
In a down-the-wire game, the Alaska Aces proved to be the tougher team as they defeated the Star Hotshots, 107-102, to join the idle San Miguel Beermen at the top of the standings, both with a 5-1 card.
JVee Casio led the Aces with 24 points, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Vic Manuel added 17 points and nine boards while Cyrus Baguio scored 14 markers. Calvin Abueva and Sonny Thoss chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
James Yap was the top scorer for Star with 20, but he missed a flurry of shots in the endgame and committed a grievous turnover with seconds left that spelled doom for the Hotshots.
Its fifth loss in seven games kept the Hotshots at solo ninth place. With 46 seconds left and Alaska ahead 103-97, Yap missed a three-pointer but Marc Pingris was there to grab a crucial offensive board resulting in a three-point play, cutting Alaska’s lead to 103-100.
After Casio committed a turnover, Yap again missed two shots, the last one a wide-open follow-up shot at the rim.
The Hotshots were still in the game though as Manuel missed two free throws, leading to an Alex Mallari fastbreak layup that cut Alaska’s lead to 103-102, with 10.3 ticks left.
But Alaska’s Baguio quickly scored underneath after a nifty pass from Manuel.
Yap then committed a turnover leading to another Baguio basket to set the final score.
Aside from Yap, three other Hotshots scored in double digits with Justin Melton finishing with 18 points, Pingris with 17 and Ian Sangalang with 10.
