Simmons gets clearance to suit up for NLEX. But will he stay?

Whether he stays or bolts, NLEX’s current focus is on getting the most out of import Jonathan Simmons.

This is how captain Kevin Alas described the situation of the Road Warriors after beating Blackwater 124-102 on Wednesday which saw the club open its PBA Governors Cup campaign on a good note.

“We are just looking to enjoy every moment Jonathan is with us. He can leave us, he can stay. If he only plays four games, we will try to get all the wins we can during that time,” Alas told the Inquirer shortly after scoring a career-high 31 points and helping the Road Warriors at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao. , Quezon City.

TNT held together in the stretch to pull out a 123-119 win over Phoenix in the second game.

Jalen Hudson led Tropang Giga with 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

1-2 punches

“He’s NBA caliber. And you all saw that before. As far as we’re concerned, we’re just trying not to lose focus because things like that are out of our control. We all just have to deliver,” Alas said softly about Simmons, who before the NLEX campaign got Good contract in China.

The NBA veteran, who spent most of his time with the San Antonio Spurs, finished with 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to complement Alas’ impressive night.

The pair were prominent in the payoff frame, combining for 29 points that helped NLEX outscore their opponents by almost twice, 40-21.

“I’m pretty sure he can play,” NLEX coach Frankie Lim said of Simmons, who reportedly got permission from the Chinese club to continue playing for the Road Warriors hours before the game.

“One thing I like about Simmons is that he is honest with me. I really appreciate that,” Lim continued. “When he said he had to go to China to play, I said if his contract ends here first, maybe he can give us four wins before that. [he leaves].”

Nothing is certain“I can’t stop him, because there is a lot of money. There is also a possibility that he could stay longer and that is what I said earlier,” he said.

Simmons, for his part, said that NLEX fans can expect the next game against NorthPort set for Friday in Antipolo City. But he also couldn’t offer anything definitive during his stay with the Road Warriors.

“I don’t know bro, I will leave that to the management. I just came to play basketball, but I’m excited to play and lead this team to win,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

He tipped his hat to his teammates’ abilities, even hinting at how to progress in the end-of-season conference.

“We just need to get better on defense. I think our defense will help the momentum of our offense going forward, so we usually learn about point one and get more chemistry on the defensive end and then it’s going to be hard to beat us,” he said.

Blackwater fought back in the first three quarters, all thanks to the return of Shawn Glover and the now fit locals Baser Amer and Yousef Taha. They all ended up in the double digits like young Ato Ular.

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