MANILA, Philippines – Jonathon Simmons carried the scoring load as NLEX climbed out of a 15-point hole to hack out a 110-108 win over TNT in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, February 1.

Simmons erupted for 45 points to go with 12 rebounds and 3 steals for the Road Warriors, who also leaned on big baskets from Kevin Alas and Kris Rosales late to gain a share of the lead in the standings with a 3-0 record.

NLEX tied fellow unbeaten squad Converge for the top spot.

The Tropang Giga were primed to stay unbeaten after enjoying a lead as big as 15 points near the end of the third quarter, 91-76, but they fizzled out in the fourth period, where they got outscored, 32-17.

Still down 84-96 in the final frame, the Road Warriors rode on a 20-2 run sparked by a Rosales jumper to seize a 104-98 lead, which they preserved until the final buzzer thanks to a pair of clutch buckets from Alas.

Simmons scored 8 points during the stretch before Alas scored 4 points inside the final 1:20 minutes for a 110-106 edge with 40 seconds left.

Although Kelly Williams pulled TNT within a single possession right after, 108-110, and pulled off a defensive stop on Simmons to get a crack at the equalizer, Roger Pogoy muffed a well-contested short stab as time expired.

“We never got rattled as a group,” said Simmons, who is set to leave NLEX after his fourth game for the Road Warriors against Phoenix on Saturday, February 4. “We stayed composed throughout the game.”

Sean Anthony stepped up for NLEX with 15 points and 6 rebounds, including his win-sealing stop on Pogoy.

Alas scored 10 of his 13 points in the final quarter, Tony Semerad put up 10 points and 8 rebounds, Don Trollano added 9 points, while Rosales chimed in 8 points, with 6 coming in the fourth salvo.

Jalen Hudson did most of the heavy lifting for the Tropang Giga with 39 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks as TNT missed the scoring prowess of Mikey Williams, who wound up with just 2 points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Pogoy backstopped Hudson with 21 points, while Jayson Castro and Glenn Khobuntin tallied 10 points each for the Tropang Giga, who fell to 2-1.

The Scores

NLEX 110 – Simmons 45, Anthony 15, Alas 13, Semerad 10, Trollano 9, Rosales 8, Nieto 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, pascual 0, Gabo 0.

TNT 108 – Hudson 39, Pogoy 21, Khobuntin 10, Castro 10, Montalbo 6, Tungcab 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Chua 3, K.Williams 2, M.Williams 2, Varilla 2, Marcelo 0.

Quarters: 28-31, 49-56, 78-91, 110-108.

– Rappler.com