NORTHPORT coach Pido Jarencio was only half-joking when he stated his squad's chances against Bay Area.
"Baka magulat sila sa amin. At least, ilan lang lamang nila, baka bente lang lamang nila sa amin," Jarencio has said.
Jarencio is sure to be all business when the Batang Pier try to indeed avoid a sound beating or even realize a veritable upset Saturday when they clash with the Dragons at 4:30 p.m. in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
From the looks of it, NorthPort's bid to follow up a 92-89 cliffhanger over Phoenix last Wednesday could be easier said than done.
Bay Area had a more rousing debut in the PBA, dealing Blackwater a 133-89 thumping earlier on opening day.
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Led by sweet-shooting point guard Myles Powell and boasting of 7-5 center Liu Chuanxing, other scorers in Glen Yang, Hayden Blankley and Zhu Songwei, the Dragons totally ran roughshod over the hapless Bossing, leading by as many as 46 points.
The fire, however, remains stoked within NorthPort.
"Baka magulat sila sa amin. Pangit 'yung laro nila, kami naman 'yung maganda laro. Tingnan natin," said Batang Pier star guard Robert Bolick.
Jarencio promptly dived into that line of thought. "Pero lalaban ang team na ito," chimed in the coach.
"Alam n'yo naman ito, eh. Gumagawa kami ng paraan para manalo. Maski nga 'yung mga bagong dumating, di ba? Ano lang, para-paraan na lang."
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True enough, ex-Barangay Ginebra forward Arvin Tolentino did leave his imprint in his first game with NorthPort, notching 16 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots.
Even returning import Prince Ibeh was able to score 19 points and 15 boards before fouling out and he should be able to stay out of foul trouble this time to at least help keep NorthPort in the game. (NC)
