If it looked like the NLEX Road Warriors had a little more pep in their step against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, it’s probably because they did. And it’s probably not too surprising either, as the Road Warriors were all sorts of motivated when they took the court against the Elasto Painters.
It turns out Robert Bolick and his fellow Road Warriors wanted to accomplish two things: bounce back from their 30-point decimation at the hands of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and exact a measure of revenge on Rain or Shine, who eliminated them in the quarterfinals of the last PBA Philippine Cup.
“‘Yung game na ‘yun against Ginebra, mas desperado lang ‘yung kalaban namin. Naunahan kami, hindi na kami nakabawi,” Bolick told reporters after NLEX routed Rain or Shine on Saturday. “Bumawi lang kami ngayon. Ito ‘yung team na naglaglag sa amin sa quarters last conference. Dagdag lang na [motivation], tapos ti-nake advantage lang namin na pilay rin sila…”
NLEX Gets Back at Rain or Shine with Superb Play on Both Ends
Prior to facing Rain or Shine, the Road Warriors had mostly relied on stingy defense to win games, scoring just enough while holding opponents to under 90 points in their three wins. Against the Elasto Painters, that defense was superb again—only this time, NLEX’s offense erupted, going off for 83 points in the first three quarters alone and breaching triple digits for the first time this season.
In other words, NLEX played a complete game against the team that beat them twice in the quarterfinals last conference. Granted, that same team is vastly undermanned, with big men Keith Datu and Caelan Tiongson out and new recruit Stanley Pringle still sidelined.
Even so, it was mission accomplished for the Road Warriors. They bounced back in a big way—and they did it against their former postseason tormentors.
