Aaron Fuller and Kevin Alas delivered huge baskets to help the NLEX Road Warriors outlast the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in double overtime, 122-114, in the Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Fuller tallied 33 points and pulled down 20 boards while Alas scored a career-high 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five dimes for the Road Warriors who improved to 3-0, their best start under coach Yeng Guiao.
The result also handed Guiao his first win against his former team Rain or Shine.
With the game tied at 101-all, NLEX dodged a bullet in regulation as Chris Tiu failed to execute Rain or Shine’s play off a timeout and lost the ball as time expired.
The Road Warriors then escaped another blunder in the first overtime after Alas committed a foul in a jumpball against Tiu, who made two free throws to give the Elasto Painters a 110-108 lead with 6.3 ticks left.
But after hearing expletives from Guiao during NLEX’s timeout, Alas made up for his blunder with a tough layup that tied the game again.
Down by a point, 112-111, in the second overtime, NLEX then launched a 9-0 run highlighted by a Fuller steal and jam to seal the Road Warriors’ win.
JD Weatherspoon led Rain or Shine, which fell to 1-1, with 20 points and 16 boards.