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NLEX steals win from Ginebra in OT thriller to cap PBA Dubai tour

Olu Ashaolu put up better stats from the previous day, but his teammates finished the comeback job. PBA Media Group
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--NLEX stunned the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai after rallying to beat Ginebra in overtime, 113-111, in the final game of the PBA Governors' Cup's two-day showcase at the said venue early Sunday (Philippine Time).

Banked by a solid second quarter, the Barangay raced to a 28-point lead, 69-41, early in the third.

But the Road Warriors slowly rallied in the rest of the second half of regulation, and Kiefer Ravena drained a tough three-pointer at the final buzzer to force the extension at 103-all.

Ginebra regained some control of the game after taking a 111-107 lead with 1:55 to go.

But back-to-back triples from Philip Paniamogan and Jericho Cruz gave NLEX the lead with 20.2 seconds left.

The team then dodged bullets in the endgame as Japeth Aguilar missed a hook shot, LA Tenorio muffed a wide-open triple off a Poy Erram clearance gone wrong, and a misfired putback from Stanley Pringle.

Despite fouling out late in regulation, Olu Ashaolu improved from his cold outing the day before against the San Miguel Beermen as he led the Road Warriors, who are now 4-1 in the standings, with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Erram, despite getting lucky with his costly tap, added 21 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals off the bench,

Philip Paniamogan came up with 20 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one block.

Kiefer Ravena almost achieved a triple-double as he had 17 assists, 13 points, and seven rebounds with one steal.

Justin Brownlee fired a rare 40-20 triple-double with 42 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists with four blocks for Ginebra, which fell to 1-2.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno