MANILA – NorthPort Batang Pier banked on Fran Yu’s torrid fourth quarter shooting as they cruised to a 101-95 victory Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in the PBA on Tour over the weekend at Batangas City Coliseum.
Clinging to a 78-73 lead midway in the fourth quarter, the Batang Pier got consecutive conversions from Ilonggo Paul Zamar, Johnnel Bauzon and Joshua Munzon to widen their advantage to 85-75.
Yu then drilled back-to-back three-pointers followed by two free throws from John Michael Calma as the Batang Pier established a 93-80 advantage before the Gin Kings cut it to 86-93 on connections by Jeremiah Gray, Jayson David and Von Pessumal.
Yu, however, hoisted another three-pointer to extend the Batang Pier’s lead to 96-86 but the Gin Kings made another run from Pessumal and David to cut the deficit to 92-97 with under a minute left.
The Batang Pier increased its advantage anew at 99-92 as Yu connected two free throws before the Gin Kings made its last push at 95-99 on three freebies by Pessumal but NorthPort sealed the win on two charity shots by Arvin Tolentino.
Yu, a rookie aspirant in the upcoming PBA Draft this September, top-scored with 21 points, including six three-point conversions, as the Batang Pier notched its third win in five games.
Calma and Zamar chipped in 16 markers apiece, while Tolentino ended with 15 points to go with nine rebounds and four blocks, while Munzon had 10 assists, nine rebounds and eight points for NorthPort.
The Gin Kings were scorching to start the game behind Gray and Pessumal as they build a 32-17 lead but the Batang Pier turned things around in the second quarter behind Zamar and Calma to take a 45-41 halftime lead.
The Batang Pier maintained a 55-46 lead in the third canto on back-to-back treys by Zamar and Yu but the Gin Kings kept the match close as they trimmed the deficit to 63-68 entering the final quarter.
Gray top-scored for the Gin Kings with double-double 26 points and 11 rebounds, Pessumal added 16 markers, while David, Nard John Pinto and Aljon Mariano had 15, 14 and 10, respectively, as the dropped to 1-3.
BOX SCORE:
NORTHPORT 101 – Yu 21, Zazmar 16, Calma 16, Tolentino 15, Munzon 8, Bauzon 8, Salado 8, Ayaay 5. Balagasay 2, Comboy 2, Gabriel 0, Olivario 0.
GINEBRA 95 – Gray 26, Pessumal 16, David 15, Pinto 14, Mariano 10, R. Aguilar 9, Onwubere 3, Gumaru 2, Dillinger 0, Cu 0, Aurin 0.
Quarterscores: 17-32, 45-41, 68-63, 101-95/PN
