BRANDON Ramirez and JB Bahio both came up with career-highs in helping NLEX keep its winning streak going with a 117-87 drubbing of hapless Terrafirma Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Ramirez scored 21 points and Bahio 17 on top of 10 rebounds as the Road Warriors opened up with a 22-5 tear to set the tone before really pouring it on in the fourth period to complete the rout and secure their fifth straight win against a loss.
"Everybody played well, everybody was in the right mindset," said NLEX coach Jong Uichico, who got contributions from all the 13 players he utilized.
"In the course of the game, we saw some... lapses, which resulted to some mistakes," added Uichico. "It's a sign of you get complacent because the score is big and they caught up. It's just good we were able to recover."
Doing their part steadying the Road Warriors' ship were Robbie Herndon, who finished with 15 points, and Javee Mocon, who wound up with his own double-double of 13 poitns and 12 boards.
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Robert Bolick made only one of his eight attempts from the field but issued 10 assists while Enoch Valdez, the last player fielded in at the last 3:43 mark by Uichico, scored all nine of his points during a 13-0 windup that pegged the final score.
The loss was Terrafirma's sixth straight following an opening day win, putting it on the brink of being the first to be taken out of the race for the top eight advancing to the quarterfinals.
Kevin Ferrer scored 23 points to lead the Dyip while Louie Sangalang found some of his scoring touch in the second half to wind up with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Mark Nonoy and Brent Paraiso were the only other Terrafirma players to score in double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the team collectively showed little fight after falling behind by 22-44 in the second period.
The Dyip did show some spirit at about the same time the Road Warriors went on the sputtering phase Uichico griped about, clawing to within 63-74.
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The threat was quickly quelled, however, when Mocon boomed in two triples during a 13-7 exchange that gave NLEX an 87-70 spread going to the final frame. (NC)
The Scores :
NLEX 117 - Ramirez 21, Bahio 17, Herndon 15, Mocon 13, Alas 9, Valdez 9, Amer 7, Miranda 6, Semerad 6, Torres 6, Nieto 3, Bolick 3, Fajardo 2.
TERRAFIRMA 87 - Ferrer 23, Sangalang 15, Nonoy 11, Paraiso 10, Zaldivar 8, Pringle 7, Melecio 5, Catapusan 4, Ramos 4, Hernandez 0, Hanapi 0, Olivario 0.
QUARTERS: 33-16, 63-44, 87-70, 117-87
