2021 NLEX Road Warriors season

2021 NLEX Road Warriors season
2021 NLEX Road Warriors season
Head coach	Yeng Guiao
Owner(s)	Metro Pacific Investments Corporation; (an MVP group subsidiary)
Philippine Cup results
Record	5–6 (45.5%)
Place	7th
Playoff finish	Quarterfinalist (lost to Meralco with twice-to-win disadvantage)
Governors' Cup results
Record	8–3 (72.7%)
Place	2nd
Playoff finish	Semifinalist (lost to Barangay Ginebra, 1–3)
NLEX Road Warriors seasons
	← 2020 2022–23 →

The 2021 NLEX Road Warriors season was the seventh season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Key dates

March 14: The PBA season 46 draft was held at the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong.^[1]

Draft picks

Special draft

Pick	Player	Position	Place of birth	College
3	Tzaddy Rangel	Center	Philippines	NU

Regular draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Place of birth	College
1	3	Calvin Oftana	Forward	Philippines	San Beda
2	20	David Murrell	Forward	USA	UP
3	28	Antonio Bonsubre	Forward	Philippines	San Beda
4	39	Jose Presbitero	Guard	Philippines	San Beda
5	49	Joseph Alcantara	Guard	Philippines	La Consolacion
6	57	Alberto Torres	Guard	Philippines	Canottieri Milano

Roster

2021 NLEX Road Warriors roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)	From
C	0	Chua, Justin	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	1989–07–13	Ateneo
F	1	Murrell, David (R)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1996–11–08	UP Diliman
F/C	2	Miranda, Michael	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1990–12–12	San Sebastian
C	4	Soyud, Raul	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	222 lb (101 kg)	1991–01–14	UP Diliman
G	5	Rosales, Kris	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1990–12–20	Hope International
G	7	Alas, Kevin	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1991–11–13	Letran
F	8	Trollano, Don	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1992–01–07	Adamson
G	9	Paniamogan, Philip	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1991–05–30	José Rizal
G/F	10	Varilla, Paul	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)		1993–08–10	UE
F	17	Ighalo, Kenneth	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1989–01–11	Mapúa
F	18	Oftana, Calvin (R)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	1996–01–03	San Beda
F/C	22	Magat, Marion	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1989–10–22	National-U
G	27	Galanza, Bong	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1992–12–21	UE
G	31	Nieto, Matt (R)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	1997–05–31	Ateneo
F	33	Semerad, Anthony	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1991–04–25	San Beda
F/C	37	Quiñahan, J. R. (C)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1984–05–08	Visayas

Head coach

Yeng Guiao

Assistant coach(es)

Team manager

Ronald Dulatre
Raymond Celis (Assistant)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(CI) Commissioner's Cup Import
(GI) Governors' Cup Import
(EI) EASL Import
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
(R) Rookie

Injured

Roster

Philippine Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	TNT Tropang Giga	10	1	.909	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Meralco Bolts	9	2	.818	1	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
3	Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots	8	3	.727	2	Best-of-three quarterfinals
4	San Miguel Beermen	7	4	.636	3
5	NorthPort Batang Pier	6	5	.545^[a]	4
6	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	6	5	.545^[a]	4
7	NLEX Road Warriors	5	6	.455	5	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	4	7	.364^[b]	6	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
9	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	4	7	.364^[b]	6
10	Terrafirma Dyip	4	7	.364^[b]	6
11	Alaska Aces	3	8	.273	7
12	Blackwater Bossing	0	11	.000	10

Source: PBA.ph
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) if two teams are tied, head-to-head record; if three or more teams are tied, head-to-head goal average (quotient), if tied for 8th, one-game playoff; 3) overall quotient 4) coin toss^[2]
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Rain or Shine
^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head quotient: Phoenix 1.03, Barangay Ginebra 1.01, Terrafirma 0.96; eighth seed playoff: Barangay Ginebra 95–85 Phoenix

Game log

2021 PBA Philippine Cup game log
Total: 5–6

July: 2–2

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	July 16	Rain or Shine	L 82–83	Kiefer Ravena (23)	Michael Miranda (8)	Kiefer Ravena (7)	Ynares Sports Arena	0–1
2	July 18	Barangay Ginebra	W 94–75	Kevin Alas (20)	J. R. Quiñahan (10)	Kiefer Ravena (5)	Ynares Sports Arena	1–1
3	July 23	San Miguel	L 93–110	Kevin Alas (20)	Raul Soyud (7)	Kiefer Ravena (7)	Ynares Sports Arena	1–2
4	July 25	Terrafirma	W 108–94	Kevin Alas (21)	Raul Soyud (12)	Kiefer Ravena (7)	Ynares Sports Arena	2–2

September: 3–4

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
5	September 2	Alaska	W 84–74	J. R. Quiñahan (18)	Kevin Alas (7)	Kevin Alas (3)	DHVSU Gym	3–2
6	September 4	Phoenix Super LPG	W 94–76	Jericho Cruz (19)	Calvin Oftana (8)	Jericho Cruz (8)	DHVSU Gym	4–2
7	September 8	Magnolia	L 105–112 (2OT)	Jericho Cruz (21)	Raul Soyud (16)	Jericho Cruz (8)	DHVSU Gym	4–3
8	September 10	TNT	L 85–100	Kevin Alas (16)	Miranda, Soyud, Trollano (7)	J. R. Quiñahan (5)	DHVSU Gym	4–4
9	September 12	NorthPort	L 94–96	Don Trollano (19)	Jericho Cruz (10)	Alas, Cruz (6)	DHVSU Gym	4–5
10	September 16	Blackwater	W 90–73	J. R. Quiñahan (16)	Raul Soyud (11)	Jericho Cruz (5)	DHVSU Gym	5–5
11	September 22	Meralco	L 101–104	Calvin Oftana (34)	Raul Soyud (12)	Kevin Alas (5)	DHVSU Gym	5–6

Playoffs

Bracket


Quarterfinals				Semifinals (best-of-7)			Finals (best-of-7)

(#1 twice-to-beat)

1	TNT		84

8	Barangay Ginebra		71
				1	TNT	4
(best-of-3)
				4	San Miguel	3
4	San Miguel		2

5	NorthPort		0
							1	TNT	4
(#2 twice-to-beat)
							3	Magnolia	1
2	Meralco	80	97

7	NLEX	81	86
				2	Meralco	2
(best-of-3)
				3	Magnolia	4
3	Magnolia		2

6	Rain or Shine		0

Game log

2021 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs game log
Total: 1–1

Quarterfinals: 1–1

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	September 29	Meralco	W 81–80	Anthony Semerad (23)	Calvin Oftana (9)	Calvin Oftana (5)	DHVSU Gym	1–0
2	October 1	Meralco	L 86–97	Don Trollano (19)	Calvin Oftana (11)	Kevin Alas (4)	DHVSU Gym	1–1

Governors' Cup

Eliminations

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots	9	2	.818	—	Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals
2	NLEX Road Warriors	8	3	.727	1
3	TNT Tropang Giga	7	4	.636^[a]	2
4	Meralco Bolts	7	4	.636^[a]	2
5	San Miguel Beermen	7	4	.636^[a]	2	Twice-to-win in quarterfinals
6	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6	5	.545^[b]	3
7	Alaska Aces	6	5	.545^[b]	3
8	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	5	6	.455^[c]	4
9	NorthPort Batang Pier	5	6	.455^[c]	4
10	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	3	8	.273	6
11	Terrafirma Dyip	2	9	.182	7
12	Blackwater Bossing	1	10	.091	8

Source: PBA.ph
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) if two teams are tied, head-to-head record; if three or more teams are tied, head-to-head goal average (quotient), if tied for 8th, one-game playoff; 3) overall quotient 4) coin toss^[3]
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head quotient: TNT 1.07, Meralco 0.99, San Miguel 0.95
^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Barangay Ginebra 1–0 Alaska
^ ^a ^b Eighth seed playoff: Phoenix 101–98 NorthPort

Game log

2021 PBA Governors' Cup game log
Total: 8–3

December: 4–1

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	December 8	San Miguel	W 114–102	K. J. McDaniels (27)	K. J. McDaniels (11)	Kevin Alas (8)	Ynares Sports Arena	1–0
2	December 10	NorthPort	W 120–115 (OT)	K. J. McDaniels (40)	K. J. McDaniels (15)	K. J. McDaniels (6)	Ynares Sports Arena	2–0
3	December 15	TNT	W 102–100	K. J. McDaniels (33)	K. J. McDaniels (8)	Alas, Cruz (4)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	3–0
4	December 18	Terrafirma	W 116–86	K. J. McDaniels (34)	K. J. McDaniels (13)	Paniamogan, Quiñahan (5)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	4–0
5	December 25	Phoenix Super LPG	L 93–102	Calvin Oftana (18)	Calvin Oftana (11)	Kevin Alas (7)	Smart Araneta Coliseum 4,843	4–1

February: 3–2

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
6	February 11, 2022	Meralco	L 100–110	K. J. McDaniels (41)	K. J. McDaniels (12)	J. R. Quiñahan (5)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	4–2
7	February 16, 2022	Magnolia	L 109–112	K. J. McDaniels (35)	K. J. McDaniels (13)	McDaniels, Trollano (3)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	4–3
8	February 18, 2022	Blackwater	W 117–97	K. J. McDaniels (24)	K. J. McDaniels (11)	Don Trollano (6)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	5–3
9	February 23, 2022	Alaska	W 106–89	K. J. McDaniels (27)	K. J. McDaniels (11)	Alas, Nieto (4)	Ynares Center	6–3
10	February 25, 2022	Rain or Shine	W 109–100 (OT)	K. J. McDaniels (35)	K. J. McDaniels (12)	Kevin Alas (7)	Ynares Center	7–3

March: 1–0

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
11	March 4, 2022	Barangay Ginebra	W 115–103	K. J. McDaniels (26)	Alas, McDaniels (10)	Kevin Alas (8)	Smart Araneta Coliseum	8–3

Playoffs

Bracket


Quarterfinals				Semifinals (best-of-5)			Finals (best-of-7)

(#1 twice-to-beat)

1	Magnolia		127

8	Phoenix Super LPG		88
				1	Magnolia	2
(#4 twice-to-beat)
				4	Meralco	3
4	Meralco		100

5	San Miguel		85
							4	Meralco	2
(#2 twice-to-beat)
							6	Barangay Ginebra	4
2	NLEX	79	96

7	Alaska	93	80
				2	NLEX	1
(#3 twice-to-beat)
				6	Barangay Ginebra	3
3	TNT	92	95

6	Barangay Ginebra	104	115

Game log

2021 PBA Governors' Cup playoffs game log
Total: 2–4

Quarterfinals: 1–1

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	March 16, 2022	Alaska	L 79–93	Cameron Clark (25)	Cameron Clark (16)	Kevin Alas (4)	Smart Araneta Coliseum 7,091	0–1
2	March 19, 2022	Alaska	W 96–80	Cameron Clark (24)	Raul Soyud (9)	Kevin Alas (4)	Smart Araneta Coliseum 10,486	1–1

Semifinals: 1–3

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	March 23, 2022	Barangay Ginebra	L 86–95	Cameron Clark (30)	Cameron Clark (13)	Kevin Alas (5)	SM Mall of Asia Arena	0–1
2	March 25, 2022	Barangay Ginebra	L 94–104	Matt Nieto (19)	Don Trollano (6)	Kevin Alas (5)	SM Mall of Asia Arena	0–2
3	March 27, 2022	Barangay Ginebra	W 86–85	Cameron Clark (21)	Cameron Clark (17)	Alas, Clark (4)	SM Mall of Asia Arena 13,272	1–2
4	March 30, 2022	Barangay Ginebra	L 94–104	Cameron Clark (34)	Cameron Clark (12)	Kevin Alas (6)	Smart Araneta Coliseum 10,353	1–3

Transactions

Free agency

Signings

Player	Date signed	Contract amount	Contract length	Former team
Kris Rosales	November 16, 2021^[4]	Not disclosed	One-season	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

Trades

Pre-season

March
March 11, 2021^[5]	To NLEX Maurice Shaw Roi Sumang Don Trollano 2022 Blackwater second-round pick	To Blackwater 2020 NLEX first-round pick (No. 4)

Mid-season

November
November 16, 2021^[6]	To NLEX Marion Magat 2023 Blackwater second-round pick	To Blackwater Mike Ayonayon Will McAloney

Recruited imports

Tournament	Name	Debuted	Last game	Record
Governors' Cup	K. J. McDaniels	December 8, 2021 (vs. San Miguel)	March 4, 2022 (vs. Barangay Ginebra)	8–3
Governors' Cup	Cameron Clark	March 16, 2022 (vs. Alaska)	March 30, 2022 (vs. Barangay Ginebra)	2–4

References

^ Application forms for Season 46 Draft available Monday, PBA.ph, December 4, 2020
^ "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
^ "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
^ "NLEX taps Kris Rosales from free agency after unloading Ayonayon". Sports Interactive Network. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
^ "NLEX trades No. 4 first round draft pick to Blackwater". PBA.ph. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
^ "NLEX re-acquires Magat from Blackwater". PBA.ph. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.

[table_hth_NP0.83323018571047-2] Head-to-head record: NorthPort 1–0 Rain or Shine

[table_hth_BGSM0.83323018571047-3] Head-to-head quotient: Phoenix 1.03, Barangay Ginebra 1.01, Terrafirma 0.96; eighth seed playoff: Barangay Ginebra 95–85 Phoenix

[table_hth_MER0.12146255705574-5] Head-to-head quotient: TNT 1.07, Meralco 0.99, San Miguel 0.95

[table_hth_ALA0.12146255705574-6] Head-to-head record: Barangay Ginebra 1–0 Alaska

[table_hth_NP0.12146255705574-7] Eighth seed playoff: Phoenix 101–98 NorthPort

[1] Application forms for Season 46 Draft available Monday, PBA.ph, December 4, 2020

[4] "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2021.

[8] "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2018.

[9] "NLEX taps Kris Rosales from free agency after unloading Ayonayon". Sports Interactive Network. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.

[10] "NLEX trades No. 4 first round draft pick to Blackwater". PBA.ph. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.

[11] "NLEX re-acquires Magat from Blackwater". PBA.ph. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.

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