PBA on Tour: NLEX Withstands Converge's Late Surge Behind Don Trollano's 26 Points - News Block

Don Trollano of NLEX Road Warriors. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—NLEX escaped a ruthless run from Converge in the fourth quarter to take home a 112-104 PBA On Tour victory at Ynares Sports Center in Pasig on Friday.

After leading by as many as 17 points, the Road Warriors lost the lead and let the FiberXers cut the lead to just one, 91-90, with 8:53 to play.

But with the heroism of Don Trollano, the Road Warriors were able to weather the late-game storm with 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the NLEX improved to a 4-5 record.

“I think it was just my instinct as a player when I saw that we were being chased and even Kevin (Alas) got a little cold, I knew I had to step up,” Trollano said in Filipino.

“We stayed calm, focused on defense and we regained the lead.”

Finding themselves down to a one-point margin, coach Frankie Lim’s wards staged a 17-4 rally capped by a bucket by Anthony Semerad to regain a 108-94 lead with 5:04 remaining.

In a last-ditch effort, the FiberXers unloaded ten unanswered points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Jolo Mendoza, to cut the deficit to four, 108-104, with 1:17 left.

Buckets from Ben Adamos and Sean Anthony sealed the deal for the Road Warriors.

Alas brought a lot to the offense for NLEX with 25 points to his name, while Anthony also scored 23 to go along with seven boards.

Mendoza was the top scorer for the FiberXers, who fell to a 5-5 scorecard, with 23 scores, while Nieto also capped the game with 19 to his name in a losing effort.