NORTHPORT made sure it would not be pining during its long Christmas break by beating Eastern, 120-113, Friday and wresting back the solo lead in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Kadeem Jack finished with 38 points and nine rebounds while Arvin Tolentino added 35 and six as the two spearheaded a sustained attack from the second quarter onwards, even posting a 116-105 lead, only 65 ticks left.
In the end, the Batang Pier bounced back in a big way from a sorry 109-115 loss to erstwhile winless Phoenix last Tuesday and improved to a 6-1 slate overall while handing the guest team only its second loss in seven games.
Eastern, which flew back in Thursday after an EASL game last Sunday, actually had a good start, leading by as much as 29-21, before eventually fading despite a gallant effort led by import Chris McLaughlin and Hayden Blankley.
The Hong Kong-based squad also got into penalty with just under nine minutes left in the game and the Batang Pier took full advantage by going a perfect 18-of-18 from the stripe, including a couple each by Jack and Fran Yu in the last 14 seconds that ensured the win.
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"Basically, we just took advantage... na they just came from a game sa Hong Kong kaya we outran them," said NorthPort coach Bonnie Tan. "Na-recover ulit namin transition points namin and 'yung assists namin as a team nag-step up ulit."
For Tolentino, who led a second quarter charge with 16 of his points, additional motivation came in the form of pride. "Always fun kung dayo kalaban mo," he said.
"Merong factor talaga 'yung gusto mong manalo and that's what happened today," added Tolentino, adding the team's morale is again soaring.
As a sort of reward, NorthPort won't see action again until Jan. 8, when it takes on Barangay Ginebra.
Tan knows his players will try and keep their razor-sharp edge during the break. "They're all professionals naman and they know how to take care dapat 'yung conditioning nila at timing to continue the good run," he said.
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Also helping the win along were Joshua Munzon's 15 points, William Navarro's 10 points and seven boards, and Yu's nine points and as many dimes.
McLaughlin led Eastern with 26 points and 19 rebounds while Blankley registered his own double-double with 24 and 10.
Glenn Yang added 13 points and eight rebounds for Eastern, which now looks forward to the match against San Miguel Beer on Sunday. (NC)
The Scores :
NORTHPORT 120 - Jack 38, Tolentino 35, Munzon 15, Navarro 10, Yu 9, Nelle 5, Flores 4, Onwubere 4, Bulanadi 0, Miranda 0, Cuntapay 0.
EASTERN 113 - McLaughlin 26, Blankley 24, Lam 18, Yang 13, Guinchard 9, Chan 7, Xu 6, Cheung 4, Leung 3, Zhu 3, Pok 0.
QUARTERS : 27-32, 63-60, 90-87, 120-113
