NORTHPORT hit the twin goals it has set by boosting its top two aspirations and finishing strong and realized those through a 120-93 demolition of all-Filipino Blackwater Saturday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Kadeem Jack, Joshua Munzon and Arvin Tolentino spearheaded the Batang Pier's offense that wasted little time in taking control of the match that serves as the protagonists' final game in the eliminations.
Jack wound up with 30 points, Munzon fired 21 and Tolentino notched a second career triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in leading NorthPort to a 9-3 slate and provisional solo leadership.
Whether the Batang Pier would clinch a top two finish and a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals still hinges on the results of the other matches featuring Hong Kong Eastern, Meralco and TNT, which all sit at 7-3.
Should coach Bonnie Tan's side gets relegated outside of the top two, then it would figure in a best-of-three duel reserved for those teams ranked third to sixth.
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NorthPort intends to cross that bridge when it gets there.
"Sabi nga ni coach Bonnie sa team, saluhin naming lagi ng dalawang kamay ang ibinibigay na panalo sa amin," said assistant coach Rensy Bajar, subbing for Tan in the post-game media conference.
Munzon is also obviously pleased when he and his teammates did what Tan wanted by finishing the eliminations strong. "We've been working hard all year and we didn't want a letdown coming in today and going to the playoffs," he said.
"So we just wanted to bring the intensity on defense and go out, you know, and finish strong and we did that," added Munzon. "Happy with the result and we just want to try and take that to the playoffs."
The loss foiled Blackwater's own bid to end the elims on a high note and instead dropped it to 11th in a 3-9 card.
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Despite being under the weather, Justin Chua played and wound up with 15 points and eight rebounds while RK Ilagan heated up late to finish with 11 points for the Bossing, who missed the services and 34.5 ppg average of the injured George King for the second straight game.
Blackwater would simply not be denied, scoring 30 points in each quarter despite playing the majority of the fourth canto with its starters on the bench. (NC)
The Scores :
NORTHPORT 120 - Jack 30, Munzon 21, Tolentino 14, Bulanadi 12, Taha 12, Nelle 7, Navarro 7, Cuntapay 5, Flores 4, Yu 2, Onwubere 2, Tratter 2, Miranda 2.
BLACKWATER 93- Chua 15, Ilagan11, Tungcab 9, Escoto 9, Jopia 8, Corteza 8, Kwekuteye 7, Ayonayon 6, Guinto 5, David 5, Mitchell 4, Casio 3, Ponferrada 3, Suerte 0.
QUARTERS : 30-26, 60-43, 90-63, 120-93
