Road Warriors stymie Bossing to snap skid

MANILA, Philippines -- The NLEX Road Warriors finally broke their losing streak, defeating the freefalling Blackwater Bossing, 104-97, in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday.

The two teams traded leads in the second half, as neither could pull away.

A reverse layup by Troy Rosario tied the game at 87 with 7:07 remaining in the game.

The Road Warriors, however, started to heat up.

They unleashed seven straight points capped by a dunk by Stokley Chaffee Jr. to grab a 94-87 advantage with 4:36 left.

This was enough separation as they quelled attempts by Blackwater to inch closer.

A layup by Archie Concepcion turned the game to a one-possession affair, 100-97, with 50.5 seconds left.

On the other end, newly acquired NLEX guard Robert Bolick was able to get open for a layup, but missed.

Off the timeout, Concepcion turned the ball over as he lost the handle of his dribble.

Bolick iced the game with a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left, putting the game out of reach, 102-97. 

A layup by Bolick as time expired set the final score.

He led the way for NLEX, stuffing the statsheet with a near triple-double of 30 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds.

Chaffee followed suit with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Ortiz led the Bossing with 27 markers, seven assists and two boards. Rookie Christian David chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds.

NLEX’s victory halted their four-game losing streak. They are now holding a 3-6 win-loss slate.

Blackwater dropped to their eighth straight loss with a 1-8 slate.