Daily Tribune
Northport import Kadeem Jack muscles his way to a 25-point performance to lead NorthPort to a 114-87 win over NLEX in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
Games today:
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5 p.m. — Phoenix vs Meralco
7:30 p.m. — Converge vs Eastern
Arvin Tolentino caught fire in the second quarter as NorthPort blew out NLEX, 114-87, for a strong start in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Scoreless in the first period, Tolentino fired 15 of his 29 points in the Batang Pier’s pivotal 35-12 second quarter to overhaul an early 16-point deficit.
NorthPort cruised from and even built a 31-point separation.
“Credit to all the players because we started flat. We started slow but the good thing was our second group stepped up. The bottom line is we showed our team effort,” Batang Pier deputy Rensy Bajar said.
“Throughout the game, we just stuck to our game plan on defense and offense we just kept running.”
Tolentino shot 11-of-19 from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists for the Batang Pier, whose second unit set the tone for the comeback from a 9-25 first quarter deficit.
“We started out a bit flat. A little rusty I guess, if that’s the right term. It’s our second unit that kept us in the game especially when we’re on the bench. And then we carried the momentum that they’ve built,” Tolentino said.
NorthPort’s bench mob contributed 36 points led by Allyn Bulanadi’s 14 points.
“The first few minutes we’re playing out of our system maybe because we’re still trying to feel our chemistry especially with a new import. We only had a short time to practice together,” Tolentino added.
“But in the second quarter, our game picked up. Again, we just sustained the momentum our second unit built like defensive stops and sharing the ball on offense.”
Import Kadeem Jack finished with 25 points while Joshua Munzon added 12 for the Batang Pier, who played sans point guard Jio Jalalon due to back pains.
The Road Warriors were forced to commit 21 turnovers which NorthPort converted to 21 turnover points.
Michael Griffin-Watkins had 29 points and 19 rebounds while Richie Roger and Javee Mocon scored 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for NLEX.
Robert Bolick was limited to just three points in a sour 1-of-11 shooting for the Road Warriors.
Meanwhile, opening day winners Converge and Hong Kong Eastern face off today for a hold of the solo lead.
