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MANILA, Philippines – The NLEX Road Warriors gave new GlobalPort import Derrick Caracter a rude welcome to the PBA as they routed the Batang Pier, 94-81, to extend their win streak in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Caracter scored 27 points and collared 14 rebounds, but his effort was not enough as NLEX broke the game open in the third quarter.
After leading by just one, 53-52, the Road Warriors unleashed a 12-1 run in the final 3:13 of the third frame to claim a 65-53 lead.
Import Al Thornton jump-started the rally with a jumper, but it was veteran KG Canaleta who hit the biggest shots, including a slam dunk to make it 65-53 with 25 seconds to go in the quarter.
The Road Warriors were able to take care of their lead in the fourth quarter, as the closest GlobalPort came was nine points, 59-68, off a triple by Anthony Semerad.
NLEX’s lead ballooned to as large as 15 points, the last at 89-74 when Canaleta drained a three-pointer.
It was the fourth straight victory for the Road Warriors, who now have a 5-4 win-loss record. Global Port dropped to 4-5 this season as it lost back-to-back games.
Canaleta led the way for NLEX with a game-high 29 points built on six three-pointers.
Thornton, who scored 50 points in NLEX’s previous game against Barangay Ginebra, scored 19 to go along with 10 rebounds.
PBA All-Star Game MVP Terrence Romeo scored 19 points for GlobalPort but made only seven of 20 shots.
Photo: Niki Sabio/PBA
This story was republished with permission from ABS-CBNNews.com.
