MANILA – NorthPort Batang Pier wasted an early lead before walloping Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 94-81, in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Robert Bolick Jr. topscored with 22 points, with 18 coming in the second half. Jamie Malonzo chipped in double-double 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Batang Pier (1-0).
Kevin Ferrer and Arthur dela Cruz also hit double figures on offense in 15 and 10 points, respectively, while John Michael Calma made his PBA debut with nine markers for NorthPort.
The Batang Pier jumped to an early 12-0 start with inside hits from Malonzo but the Painters slowly clawed its way back to trim the deficit to 35-40 heading into the break.
NorthPort regained its scoring in the third quarter with three-point conversions from Bolick and inside hits by Malonzo and Dela Cruz to widen the advantage to 71-54.
The Batang Pier pushed the lead further as it reached its largest at 21 points on back-to-back treys by Ferrer. The Batang Pier rallied to within 10 but baskets by Calma sealed the win for NorthPort.
Mike Nieto finished the game with 19 points, Leonard Santillan chipped in 16 markers, while Anton Asistio and Beau Belga contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively, as the Painters dropped to 1-1.
In the first game, Jvee Casio caught fire in the endgame as the Blackwater Bossing kicked off its campaign with an 85-78 stunner on defending champions TNT Tropang Giga.
Clinging to a 75-73 lead with over two minutes left, Casio gave the Bossing some breathing room with a triple but was quickly negated by five straight points from the Tropang Giga for a 78-all count.
Casio regained the lead for the Bossing at 82-78 with a layup and a two-pointer before sealing the victory for his squad with a three-pointer with 41 seconds left.
Casio finished the game with 22 points, including five outside conversions, to go with five rebounds for the Bossing, which played without top-overall pick Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser due to an injury.
BOX SCORE:
NORTHPORT 94 – Bolick 22, Malonzo 18, Ferrer 15, Dela Cruz 10, Calma 9, Santos 8, Sumang 5, Balanza 4, Ayaay 3, Vigil 0, Apacible 0.
RAIN OR SHINE – Nieto 19, Santillan 16, Asistio 14, Belga 10, Nambatac 6, Demusis 6, Ildefonso 5, Ponferrada 5, Torres 0, Clarito 0, Borboran 0, Caracut 0, Tolentino 0.
Quarterscores: 20-11, 40-35, 71-54, 94-81./PN
