NORTHPORT drew inspiration and strength from two returning players and Arvin Tolentino's triple-double to outclass Terrafirma, 133-107, Sunday and get back on track in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Venky Jois and William Navarro, sidelined by injuries their last game, combined for 44 points and 21 rebounds while Tolentino tallied 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Batang Pier got off to a blistering start before completing the wire-to-wire win.
After a more dominant performance than its initial 112-97 victory over the same team the first time they met, NorthPort snapped out of a two-game slide while improving to an even 3-3 record in Group A.
"We lost two straight games so kinausap ng coaching staff, especially ni coach Bonnie (Tan), 'yung buong team, na how we handle those two losses," divulged Rensy Bajar, subbing for Tan in the post-game interview.
"Hiningi lang naman namin for today's game is, No. 1 the energy of the players, na kailangan from the start maipakita na namin 'yung willingness to defend, madipensahan namin sila ng maayos, and we control the boards na 'yun nga nangyari ngayon," added Bajar.
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"Tapos 'yung assists department. Nagkaroon kami ng magandang chemistry inside the court."
Indeed, the Batang Pier held the Dyip to a 36-of-91 field goal shooting, emerged with a plus-11 advantage off the boards and had five more assists, which Bajar mostly credited to Tolentino.
The forward, who notched a career-high 51 points just a week ago, deflected some of the praise to his teammates for his first career triple-double. "Credit din to my teammates and the coaches," he said.
"Getting a triple-double di naman pang-isang tao lang o isang player," added Tolentino. "Of course, 'yung mga teammates ko they keep finding me and I keep finding them also. Sila nakaka-shoot ng mga pasa ko, that's why I got 10 assists."
The loss was Terrafirma's sixth in as many games, notwithstanding the 22 points and 10 rebounds notched by Christian Standhardinger and the career-high 20 points by rookie Didat Hanapi.
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Coming off the bench for the first time, Antonio Hester wound up with 12 points and six rebounds while Mark Sangalang, Kevin Ferrer and Stanley Pringle each scored at least 10 points.
But a 1-for-14 field shooting to start the game readily did the Dyip in as they fell behind by 8-30 and by as much as 41-69.(NC)
The Scores :
NORTHPORT 133 - Jois 26, Tolentino 23, Navarro 18, Flores 15, Jalalon 12, Amores 8, Onwubere 7, Munzon 6, Taha 6, Yu 5, Nelle 3, Tratter 2, Bulanadi 2, Cuntapay 0.
TERRAFIRMA 107 - Standhardinger 22, Hanapi 20, Ferrer 14, Sangalang 14, Hester 12, Pringle 10, Hernandez 5, Ramos 5, Cahilig 5, Olivario 0.
QUARTERS: 33-11, 62-41, 96-75, 133-107
