The gruesome injury to import DeQuan Jones became the rallying point for the NLEX Road Warriors, as they overcame a five-point deficit in the last 30 seconds of regulation to outlast the TNT Tropang 5G in overtime, 118-111, in the PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday evening.
In the game, the import Jones suffered a gruesome injury at the 7:27 mark of the third quarter, when he awkwardly fell on the floor on a play. As he fell, Tropang 5G center Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser fell on him.
Jones had to be brought out of the playing court and was taken to the hospital.
Despite this, NLEX held an 85-79 lead heading to the fourth, but it fell behind late against TNT in the final minute.
The Road Warriors trailed by five, 99-104, with about 30 seconds to go after a Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson layup, but huge 4-point shots by Robert Bolick forced overtime.
In the extra time, the Road Warriors’ locals stepped up and finished the job.
After the game, NLEX head coach Jimmy Alapag said that when Jones exited the game, he reiterated how important it is to honor him with a win.
‘I think first and foremost, my deepest prayers go out to DJ. More than the basketball player, it’s the person. Him and I just had lunch yesterday and his value to this team goes far beyond what he does in the basketball court. Again, it’s the person, it’s the leadership, it’s the character,’ he said.
‘So it’s heartbreaking to see him go down, but I’m so proud of our guys. I told them when DJ went down, the best thing that we can do to just honor what he means to this team is to come out and fight for the rest of the game,’ he added.
Before the injury, Jones already had 23 points on 5-of-9 shooting, to go with four rebounds and an assist.
Alapag then tipped his hat to guards Bolick and LJ Gonzales, who took over in the absence of Jones.
‘It was a lost game there at the end, but again, Berto, he’s been an elite point guard in this league for a long time. It’s been great to see his growth through these first eight games. He hits a big time shot,’ the coach stressed.
‘Of course, the guy next to me, LJ, was huge down the stretch. In the third, entire fourth, in the overtime, just making big play after big play. I think LJ’s putting the PBA on notice that we’re not just a team with two guards. We also have another star in the making coming up,’ he added.
‘Again, just super proud of the guys. Not easy beating a championship caliber team like TNT but again, the heart and the will and the competitive spirit that they showed tonight. Really, really proud of them.’
NLEX is currently on top of the Group A standings. Jones’ steady play this conference has been a huge part of the Road Warriors’ 7-1 record thus far.
Gonzales, for his part, said the team just gave their 100% in the game for Jones.
‘Talagang pinagdasal namin kasi alam naman namin si DJ isa sa pinaka-inaasahan sa team namin. Binigay lang namin yung 100% namin, inalay namin yung game sa kaniya,’ the lightning-quick guard said.
‘Nakakalungkot pero kung bibigay mo talaga yung best para sa teammate mo, so wala akong masabi, sobrang grateful ako na makapaglaro ako nang maayos and nanalo kami.’
Now, the Road Warriors will have a quick turnaround, with their next game set on Friday against the Converge FiberXers.
‘You never expect your import to go down. But from here, after we speak to the team, I’ll get our staff together, together with the management and try to figure out what we can do. Kasi ang next game namin is on Friday, so medyo bitin ang time,’ Alapag said.
‘But again, right now, all of our thoughts and prayers are with DJ. Big time loss for our team, but we’ll try to find somebody who can fill that void.’