Selden takes responsibility as NLEX falls apart vs Ginebra: 'Got a little tired down the stretch'

MANILA, Philippines – Wayne Selden admitted NLEX simply ran out of steam in the endgame as the Road Warriors absorbed their first loss in the PBA Governors’ Cup after four straight wins.

The former NBA player saw his superb PBA debut of 43 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals go for naught in a 114-111 loss to Barangay Ginebra on Wednesday, February 8, where NLEX blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead.

Still up 108-101 with two minutes remaining, the Road Warriors allowed the Gin Kings to go on a win-clinching 13-3 run highlighted by three Jeremiah Gray three-pointers.

“We just got to make stops down the stretch. We missed opportunities to get stops,” said Selden, who took over as import following the departure of Jonathon Simmons to the Chinese Basketball Association.

“Gave up a couple threes. We got to be better to close the game. We got to be able to finish the game. We ran out of gas. We’ll be better next game.”

Despite breaching the 40-point mark in just his first PBA game, Selden struggled mightily in the fourth quarter.

After exploding for 20 points in the third period alone, Selden came up with just 5 points in the final frame as he shot 2-of-8 from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.

The former Memphis Grizzlies guard also muffed the potential overtime-forcing trey at the buzzer.

“I got a responsibility to the team, to the staff, to the coaches to be as good as I can be. Be a leader. Got a little tired down the stretch tonight but it is no excuse. The next game, I’ll have more energy, for sure,” Selden said.

Although his debut ultimately ended in disappointment, Selden sees a lot of promise in NLEX, which is currently at joint third place with TNT and Converge with identical 4-1 records.

“We got a lot of potential. That is a great group of guys. I’m happy with the guys. We worked hard tonight. Just made a couple of mistakes on defense and I know we’ll be better next game.”

Bound to get to know his teammates better as the Road Warriors take a week-long break, Selden will gun for his first win against Magnolia on February 16 at the Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.