NLEX out to sustain momentum in PBA D-League break
The NLEX Road Warriors are hoping to sustain their momentum in their remaining games in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup, which is now on its Christmas break.
Thanks to their four-game winning streak, the Road Warriors are back on track with a 5-1 win-loss card following a lopsided win over Freego Jeans last week before the break. NLEX is now in second place and have gained a shot at two of the outright semifinal slots.
NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez, however, said that the star-studded team still needs retooling particularly on their chemistry.
“We are playing in a complete line-up. We are not practicing as a whole because of commitments with their school,” said Fernandez.
During their winning run, the Road Warriors had to play with an incomplete line-up because several players were seeing action for their respective schools in the PCCL.
The notable players in the team that played for their school were NCAA Most Valuable Player Calvin Abueva, Ian Sangalang and Ronald Pascual from San Sebastian and Dave Marcelo from San Beda. San Beda’s Garvo Lanete missed action not just because of school commitments but also because of an injured shoulder.
Prior to that, the league altered its schedule to allow NLEX’s players to wear the national colors in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia where the Sinag Pilipinas team captured the gold medal.
But now that collegiate basketball is over, Fernandez said that the team can practice as one and jell with each other.
“We’ll have a two-week break and hopefully we can play as a team and practice as a whole and make our chemistry just fine,” Fernandez said.
The team swings into action on January 3 against Boracay Rum followed by RnW Pacific Pipes on January 5.
Then, the Road Warriors will face the equally streaking team in league-leading Cebuana Lhuillier (7-1) on January 12 in a rematch of the Foundation Cup finals before wrapping up their conference against Café France.
“We are still looking at getting one win at a time. We are just hoping that we can sustain everything. We lost Ronald Pascual (ACL injury) but I’m happy that the others are stepping up. I really hope that the chemistry will be ok when January 2012 comes,” said Fernandez.
Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/nlex-out-to-sustain-momentum-in-pba-d-league-break
