MANILA, Philippines – The NLEX Road Warriors attained their second win of the PBA Governors’ Cup following a 88-85 victory over the struggling Star Hotshots on Friday, August 12 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
It was a battle that went down the wire and eventually decided by the Hotshots’ inability to tie the game in the final 3 seconds. Even with a new import in Joel Wright, Star has yet to escape another lackluster start to the conference, falling to 1-4.
NLEX, which is now 2-3, avoided a fourth straight defeat led by the 32 points and 10 rebounds of Henry Walker. Garvo Lanete also stepped up off the bench with 15 points, while Asi Taulava and Jonas Villanueva each scored 10 points.
The Road Warriors left a window open for overtime when Rodrigue Akl missed two free throws that could have made it a 5-point game with 3 seconds remaining, but Mark Barroca missed a tough 3-ball which sealed his team’s loss.
Wright led the Hotshots with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Marc Pingris added 14 off the bench. – Rappler.com