NLEX survived a fourth-quarter scare to beat Phoenix Super LPG, 97-92, in the opening game of their PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinal series. The win gave the Road Warriors a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup, but the margin was far tighter than the teams' seedings suggested.
Deonte Burton, playing with five fouls, blocked two shots in the final three minutes and hit the free throws that closed out the game. Phoenix had chances to tie in the last minute and could not convert them.
NLEX Phoenix quarterfinal opener
NLEX entered as the No. 1 seed from Group A, while Phoenix Super LPG came in at No. 4 from Group B. The source report noted that the final score hardly reflected those positions, and Road Warriors coach Jimmy Alapag said the difficulty was expected.
"Phoenix has been a resilient team throughout the conference so it's expected that they'll continue to play," Alapag said of the Fuel Masters.
Alapag credited his team's execution late in the game rather than any collapse by the opposition. "They clawed and fought throughout the game but I thought down the stretch we made big plays especially on the defensive end and cleaned up the rebounds," he said.
Deonte Burton's late defensive plays
Burton was at the centre of NLEX's late stops. With five fouls against him, he blocked Kai Ballungay's close-range attempt at the 2:02 mark of the fourth quarter, a basket that would have cut the NLEX lead to one point.
He then blocked Gian Mamuyac's three-point attempt with 48 seconds left, denying Phoenix a potential equaliser. Burton finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and added two free throws in the last 13.8 seconds that sealed the result.
Supporting numbers for the Road Warriors
Burton's output was backed by Robert Bolick, who scored 20 points, and Schonny Winston, who added 13. Tony Semerad contributed 11 points for NLEX.
The spread matters for a team that leaned heavily on its import in the closing minutes. Burton was in foul trouble for part of the fourth quarter, and the Road Warriors still found enough scoring around him to hold the lead.
TNT opens with a rout of Magnolia
In the other quarterfinal opener reported from the same playdate, TNT defeated Magnolia, 92-70, to take a 1-0 lead in its own race-to-three series. The defending champion Tropang 5G pulled away over the course of the game rather than in a single late run.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led TNT with 26 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. The result stood in contrast to the NLEX-Phoenix game, where the outcome stayed uncertain until the final possession.
What the series leaves open
Phoenix's performance supports Alapag's pre-game assessment: the Fuel Masters trailed but stayed within reach, and two late defensive plays were the difference. Whether that pattern holds is the central question for the rest of the series.
For NLEX, the concern is dependence on Burton in tight finishes, particularly when he is carrying fouls. For Phoenix, the concern is converting late possessions against a team that has now shown it can protect a narrow lead.
A date for the next game in the series was not included in the report.
The original report on this game was published by philstar.com.
