WITH a game-changing 18-0 blast in the second period, NorthPort laid the foundation to its third straight win in the PBA on Tour at the expense of Barangay Ginebra.
The Batang Pier wrested control from the hot-starting Gin Kings with a furious second-quarter storm and used the momentum to eventually hack out a 101-95 victory Saturday at the Batangas City Coliseum in Batangas City.
From being winless after two games, Bonnie Tan's rejuvenated charges are now above the .500 mark in the pre-season meet -- presented by Arena Plua and sponsored by Bingo Plus -- at 3-2.
They sent the Gin Kings to their third loss in four outings.
Letran star and draft hopeful Fran Yu took the lead role in this streak-extending win, firing 21 markers laced by a six-of-10 three-point shooting that went with eight assists.
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Yu knocked down three of his long bombs and sank two clutch free throws in the final canto to help create separation and later fend off Ginebra's late rally.
He was surrounded by solid outings from JM Calma and Paul Zamar, who scored 16 apiece, Arvin Tolentino, who shot 15 with nine boards and four blocks and Joshua Munzon, who grabbed 10 dimes to complement his eight markers and nine rebounds.
Bouncing back from his three-point outing last time, Ginebra's Gray dropped 26 to show the way but the Gin Kings failed to make it back-to-back and fell to 1-3 instead.
Gray's early sniping powered Ginebra to an early 32-17 upperhand but the Batang Pier turned things around with a 28-9 exchange in the second.
Highlight of this momentum-swinging period was 18 unanswered points that transformed a 27-39 NorthPort deficit into a 45-39 margin for the Batang Pier. (OL)
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The Scores:
NORTHPORT 101 - Yu 21, Zamar 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.
QUARTERS: 17-32, 45-41, 68-63, 101-95.
