Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 27) – Cameron Clark nailed a crucial three-point play in the last seconds that secured a new lease on life for the NLEX Road Warriors against Barangay Ginebra, 86-85, in Game 3 of their semifinal series on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
After Justin Chua missed his fade-away shot in the last 20 seconds, Ginebra got the defensive rebound but veteran playmaker LA Tenorio committed a passing turnover due to defensive pressure in the backcourt.
Clark stole the ball and converted the lay-up off a foul from Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee, the intended recipient of Tenorio’s bad pass, which broke the deadlock.
The NLEX reinforcement shot his bonus free-throw for the three-point advantage, 86-83.
With no timeout remaining, Ginebra tried to force overtime, but a bizarre sequence happened in the play as Tenorio opted for an inside shot as the buzzer sounded, seemingly unaware of the opponent’s three-point lead and the time left in the game clock.
“We took the lead early, we lost the lead, and we could not sustain our momentum. Today, we were able to hold on until the end game. Actually, I told my players that let’s just save ourselves from the embarrassment of being swept,” NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao reflected on the team’s overall performance in the post-game interview.
Clark finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Kevin Alas contributed 15 markers in the Road Warriors’ do-or-die game.
“We will try to prolong the series. The longer the series, the better for us,” said Guiao, whose team is still down 1-2 in their best-of-five semifinal series with Ginebra and need the next two games to advance to the finals.
Ginebra, who held a close advantage for most of the match, was led by Brownlee with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Christian Standhardinger added 16 markers and 16 boards in their defeat.
The Scores:
NLEX 86 – Clark 21, Alas 15, Chua 13, Soyud 11, Paniamogan 9, Rosales 7, Miranda 4, Trollano 4, Semerad 2, Nieto 0
GINEBRA 85 – Brownlee 27, Standhardinger 16, Thompson 13, Tenorio 10, Tolentino 9, Devance 6, Caperal 2, Chan 2, Pinto 0
Quarterscores: 16-19, 36-44, 59-62, 86-85
