MANILA – NorthPort Batang Pier continued its hot start in the PBA Philippine Cup via a dominant 112-96 victory over TNT Tropang Giga last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Arvin Tolentino top-scored for the Batang Pier with 29 points to go with eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals as they moved to a share of second spot with the NLEX Road Warriors at 4-1.
John Michael Calma added a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Joshua Munzon contributed 14 markers for the streaking Batang Pier.
The Batang Pier surged to a 12-4 start behind consecutive inside hits from Calma. The Tropang Giga rallied to within 13-14, but NorthPort pulled away at 32-18 on connections from Tolentino and Allyn Bulanadi.
The Tropang Giga got their shots to fall to start the second frame to cut the deficit to 26-36, but the Batang Pier answered with three-pointers from Tolentino, Brent Paraiso, and John Amores for a 61-34 halftime lead.
NorthPort established its biggest lead at 66-34 early in the third quarter on a three-pointer by Tolentino. TNT attempted to rally back but the Batang Pier had its response as they kept an 85-57 lead.
The Tropang Giga made its last push in the final quarter as they trimmed the deficit to 19 points at 71-90, but the Batang Pier got connections from William Navarro and Calma to preserve the win.
“Maganda ang practice ng mga bata and good thing na-maintain namin ‘yun heading into the game,” said Batang Pier head coach Bonnie Tan. “Nandun pa din ‘yung timing nila and confidence level.”
“’Yun nga ang instruction ko talaga is dapat everybody on board kami against TNT kasi we are defending against their main weapons, sina Calvin (Oftana), Roger (Pogoy), and Jayson (Castro),” he added.
Pogoy top-scored for the Tropang Giga with 34 points, including seven triples, while Kim Aurin and Oftana chipped in 18 and 13 points, respectively. They dropped to 2-3./PN
BOX SCORE:
NORTHPORT 112 – Tolentino 29, Calma 22, Munzon 14, Flores 9, Bulanadi 7, Navarro 6, Lucero 6, Taha 5, Rosales 4, Amores 3, Paraiso 3, Adamos 2, Zamar 2, Yu 0, Cuntapay 0.
TNT 96 – Pogoy 34, Aurin 18, Oftana 13, Galinato 7, Montalbo 6, Khobuntin 5, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Castro 4, Ponferrada 3, Williams 2, M. Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Reyes 0, Varilla 0, Heruela 0, Eboña 0.
Quarterscores: 32-18, 61-34, 85-57, 112-96.
