60-point beating
The Macau Giant Pandas were hardly competitive going into the long break in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
With their top players signed by other clubs, they were even more terrible.
And NLEX took advantage, cruising to a record-setting 138-78 rout of the league’s guest team on Wednesday to secure the first quarterfinal berth in the tournament.
“Our preparation for the playoffs starts now,” NLEX coach Jimmy Alapag said after the historic rout at Ninoy Aquino Stadium. “It doesn’t start Oct. 23, Oct. 24 or whenever the quarterfinals start. Our playoffs start now.”
The Road Warriors certainly looked sharp, but the Giant Pandas chipped in more than their share to their crushing defeat.
Macau’s best players, Damian Chong Qui, Ramon Cao, Jenning Leung and import Devondre Perry left the team during the break, with Chong Qui signing with another Macau team and Cao and Leung joining Hong Kong Eastern—teams competing in the East Asia Super League (EASL).
The current season of the EASL, a regional home-and-away tournament, will be without a PBA representative after the rising league announced in August that a team from the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League would represent the Philippines.
Seven months ago
About a month later, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the league would stop representing the country in the EASL, adding that the latter had failed to settle its financial obligations to the PBA.
Coach Marcus Elliott was not with the team either.
NLEX’s 60-point win broke the previous record logged just seven months ago by Rain or Shine, which hammered Blackwater, 151-95, for a 56-point beating.
With the win, NLEX moved back into sole possession of first place in Group A with an 8-2 win-loss slate, temporarily separating itself from San Miguel Beer, one of its next two opponents before the playoffs.
Even as the team is assured of a spot in the next round, Alapag wants to keep the Road Warriors sharp over their next two games.
“I think it’s important for our group to be in that mindset for the road ahead,” he said. “And I think these next two games are just part of the preparation to get ready.”
NLEX will also battle Titan Ultra, which could be another victory on the board.
Preparing for the quarterfinals could be a breeze if new import Deonte Burton can be consistent with the form he showed against the Giant Pandas.
Burton finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and six steals, engineering the early blitz that set up the record romp.
“I was really excited to play, and I just hope that you all enjoyed it,” Burton said.
Burton arrived in September during the break and appeared in a couple of NLEX’s tuneup games in the league-organized On Tour series.
“It helped our chemistry, just being able to play against different people and be able to build chemistry, and I feel like it showed tonight,” said Burton, whom Alapag had known when they were with the Sacramento Kings’ NBA G-League affiliate Stockton Kings.
Macau dropped to 2-7 after coming into the game with just nine uniformed players and leaving it with a lot of unanswered questions.
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