MANILA – NLEX completed its sweep of Phoenix Super LPG, 137-89, on Saturday to book the first semifinals slot in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup.
Robert Bolick set the rout in motion with 16 of his game-high 23 points in the opening quarter to lead coach Jimmy Alapag’s crew in wrapping up the best-of-five quarterfinals at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
“Extremely, extremely proud of our guys,” Alapag said after steering NLEX to its first Final Four appearance since the 2021-22 edition.
NLEX, the Group A top seed, finished the eliminations with the best record (9-3) among all 13 teams.
Defending champion TNT followed its sister team to the semifinals with a similar sweep, dispatching Group B top seed Magnolia, 98-87, in the main game.
Alapag, appointed as head coach just days before the conference started, also became the first chief tactician to make the semifinals in his first conference.
“The one thing that stood out, that first week together with this group, just the work ethic. Sobrang sipag sila, lahat sila (They are extremely hardworking, all of them) . We practice early morning in the gym and everybody’s in the gym two hours before practice starts. Nandoon na sila (They are already there), ready to work,” Alapag said.
NLEX will clash with the winner of the Converge-Rain or Shine series, which is tied at 1-1.
“Siyempre, nakita ko rin kung paano maglaro si coach. Alam ko kung paano niya dinadala sarili niya (I saw how coach played. I know how he carries himself),” Bolick said.
“So gusto ko lang simulan ‘yung game ng ganoong klase ng intensity, para naman makita ng mga teammates ko na ready kami, lumalaban and once na nag-start iyon, nag-snowball na lahat (I wanted to start the game with such intensity so my teammmates will see that we’re ready, fighting and it will have a snowball effect).”
The loss was Phoenix’s worst in franchise history.
Even with Jason Perkins finally seeing action in the first three and a half minutes and booming in a triple, and Marcellus Earlington netting 19 points and Kai Ballungay 16, the Fuel Masters trailed by as much as 87-137.
Resident TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 38 points, nine rebounds and three assists. It was just his fifth game since returning this month, recovered from a ruptured right Achilles tendon sustained while playing for Meralco in the East Asia Super League in December 2025.
He led all scorers with 26 and grabbed 9 boards in Game 1 (92-70) and again topscored with 39 and hauled down 15 rebounds in Game 2 (91-73).
The Tropang 5G await the winner of the Barangay Ginebra-San Miguel Beer face-off, which the Gin Kings also look to sweep on Tuesday at City of Dasmariñas Arena in Cavite.
“Give credit to Magnolia, they played a wonderful series, making things tough for me and my teammates. But I put the work in every day, I trust the process, I believe in the work and the rest takes care of itself,” the three-time PBA champion and three-time Best Import awardee said.
“What stands out for us is playing tough defense. It just so happened we scored very well.”
For TNT coach Chot Reyes, defense was indeed the biggest key.
“It’s really the attention to detail and the commitment to play defense,” he said. “We thought if we could limit their scoring, that would give us a chance to score on the other side. We know they’re No. 1 in the league on defense. We know in a halfcourt situation, we’d have a hard time scoring.”
Reyes said they put emphasis on stopping the Hotshots while creating more scoring opportunities.
“Throughout the series, we didn’t shoot very well from the three-point line but we gave ourselves enough opportunities to score elsewhere because of our defense. Our ability to stop them, that’s the key,” he added.
Hollis-Jefferson found support from Rey Nambatac (13 off the bench), RR Pogoy (12) and Calvin Oftana (10). (PNA)
The scores:
First Game
NLEX 137 – Bolick 23, Burton 19, Winston 19, Alas 12, Gonzales 12, Valdez 10, Semerad 9, Herndon 9, Gamboa 7, Capulong 6, Torres 4, Marcelo 3, Racal 2, Bahio 2, Nieto 0, Rodger 0.
PHOENIX 89 – Earlington 19, Ballungay 16, Mamuyac 11, Tuffin 10, Tio 10, Rivero 8, Cullar 6, Delos Santos 3, Perkins 3, Ando 3, Escandor 0, Santos 0.
Quarters: 43-21; 78-43; 107-71; 137-89
Second Game
TNT 98 – Hollis-Jefferson 38, Nambatac 13, Pogoy 12, Oftana 10, Heading 9, Castro 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Galinato 3, Khobuntin 3, Jalalon 0, Erram 0, Quitevis 0.
MAGNOLIA 87 – Buffen 31, Sanagalang 12, Koon 9, Lastimosa 8, Gomez de Liano 8, Lucero 7, Barroca 6, Gomez 6, Andrada 0, Alfaro 0, Laput 0, Verano 0.
Quarters: 23-21; 50-41; 79-56; 98-87
NLEX’s Robert Bolick
