Games Saturday
(SM Mall of Asia Arena)
4:30 p.m. — Bay Area vs NorthPort
6:45 p.m. — Phoenix Super LPG vs Blackwater
Seeing their former coach Yeng Guiao at the opposing end, interim mentor Adonis Tierra and the NLEX Road Warriors went business as usual in completing a 96-90 triumph over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the main game of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night, 23 September at the Philsports Arena.
NBA veteran Earl Clark kept his poise after early foul troubles and got the job done in the endgame. He finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds, but more importantly, showed his resiliency on the defensive end.
A former teammate of Kobe Bryant with the LA Lakers, Clark blocked six shots and picked up four steals.
“I love playing defense and it takes a lot of heart playing defense. Any way I can help my team win, from points, rebounds, defense, I’ll do it,” added Clark.
For Clark, picking up a victory right away in strange situations was all worth it.
“I was joking with the team. I had three coaches in three weeks,” said Clark, who took pride winning a game against the coach who brought him here in the Philippines.
Over the past three weeks, NLEX had undergone coaching changes, losing Guiao, who moved over to the Elasto Painters side, to naming Tierra as interim mentor to appointing Frankie Lim as head coach a few days ago.
THE SCORES:
NLEX (96) – Clark 26, Chua 18, Alas 15, Trollano 12, Nieto 12, Varilla 4, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Miranda 3, Magat 2, Rosales 0, Fonacier 0, Ighalo 0.
Rain or Shine (90) – Taylor 21, Nambatac 11, Nieto 10, Caracut 9, Ponferada 8, Asistio 7, Demusis 6, Belga 5, Ildefonso 4, Norwood 2, Mamuyac 0, Torres 0.
Quarterscores: 15-24; 36-42; 67-66; 96-90.
