The NLEX Road Warriors looked headed for their second straight rout on Sunday to open the PBA Governors’ Cup. They led the Terrafirma Dyip by as much as 23 points entering the fourth and were on cruise control. Then, they unraveled.
NLEX unraveled so much that they ended up one basket away from losing outright. Justin Strings had that chance, getting a wide-open trey in the game’s last possession, with the Road Warriors clinging to a solitary point.
Strings missed. NLEX escaped with a 101-100 win. Jimmy Alapag wasn’t happy.
In fact, Alapag took the blame for the Road Warriors’ fourth-quarter collapse and admitted he needs to do better. He also gave props to Terrafirma for its fight back.
“I think you need to give a lot of credit to Terrafirma. I thought they played great. I have to do a better job, I don’t think I did a good job in the fourth quarter,” said NLEX’s newly appointed head coach.
Alapag Rues Zone, Stresses Need to Be Better
Entering the fourth quarter with a 23-point advantage, NLEX’s second win appeared well within reach. It was looking like another easy win. However, Juami Tiongson and Maverick Ahanmisi caught fire to lead the Dyip’s offense. On defense, Terrafirma went to the zone, and it posed quite a lot of problems for the Road Warriors, who went scoreless in the last 4:15 of the fourth.
“The zone gave us some issues. Credit to Terrafirma and their staff, but I thought we were able to get the stops that we needed again,” Alapag added.
Alapag also noted how Terrafirma’s three-point shooting fueled that comeback as CJ Catapusan, JM Bravo, Joseph Eriobu, Ahanmisi, and Tiongson all hit big treys in the fourth. Overall, the Dyip shot 13-of-37 from beyond the arc, but Strings missed the one for the win.
“They had Catapusan, Bravo, Eriobu hit big threes in that fourth quarter, and that’s just credit to them,” The Captain said. “But I gotta do a better job. We were able to sneak out a win tonight.”
Alapag will get the chance to do better fairly quickly. After a one-day break, he and the Road Warriors will return to action on Tuesday against the Titan Ultra Giant Risers.
