MANILA — The NLEX Road Warriors revived their playoff hopes as imports Kwame Alexander and Michel Madanly combined with veteran center Asi Taulava and Mac Cardona in pulling down the Alaska Aces, 113-102 Tuesday night in the 2015 PBA Governors' Cup. It marked the first time that NLEX defeated Alaska in franchise history. The Road Warriors won by employing a crippling defense on the Aces in the endgame, preventing Alaska from scoring for seven minutes. Despite the win, NLEX remained at the bottom half of the standings in a three-way tie for eighth to 10th place with Star and Barangay Ginebra, all with a 2-4 win-loss card. Despite the loss, its second in six games, Alaska remained at the upper half of the standings in a tie for third to fourth spot with idle GlobalPort. Alexander and Madanly both played their best game in the league, erupting for 28 points each, with Alexander adding 11 rebounds and Madanly getting nine boards and five assists. Taulava added 20 points and 13 boards while Cardona chipped in with 15 markers, nine of them in the pivotal fourth quarter. Prior to the game, the NLEX management was reported to be considering the replacement of Alexander for former Barako Bull import Joshua Dollard. But with Alexander's strong showing Tuesday night, NLEX head coach Boyet Fernandez said after the game that management may stick with him if he continues his winning ways. Import Romeo Travis led Alaska with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Cyrus Baguio was the Aces' top local scorer with 23. Rookie guard Chris Banchero added 14 points, six rebounds and two assists. NLEX faced a double-digit deficit in the third quarter following a 21-2 Alaska run to start the period. But the Road Warriors responded with a 15-2 run in the final quarter to level the score. They made another run, an 8-0 blast, to grab a 107-96 lead with 1:08 left, for which Alaska had no answer. Meralco 119, Talk N Text 85 The Meralco Bolts zapped sister team Talk N Text Tropang Texters, 119-85, to climb to solo fifth place in the standings with their fourth win in seven outings. TNT slid to solo sixth with a 3-3 win-loss card. Import Andre Emmett was on fire all game long, finishing with 36 points, including 6-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. He also collected seven boards. Sean Anthony ably backed up Emmett with a double-double 24 points and 12 rebounds. Three other Bolts scored in double digits. Jared Dillinger had 14 points and eight rebounds while Gary David and Mike Cortez chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Bolts shot the lights out of the arena with a sizzling 56.5 shooting percentage, sinking 48 of 85 shots. The Texters could only come up with a 40.5 shooting clip, hitting 32 of 79 tries. Import Steffphon Pettigrew led the Texters with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jayson Castro finished with 16 points, six assists while Ranidel de Ocampo had 14 points and six boards. Harvey Carey added 10 markers. Games Wednesday: Blackwater Elite vs. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters; Barangay Ginebra Kings vs. Global Port Batang Pier.
