Highway blockade

NorthPort pulled off a huge upset over quarterfinals-bound NLEX, 113-108, to arrest an eight-game losing skid in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Cade Flores powered the Batang Pier in a scorching 40-point third quarter to create a significant separation to cushion the Road Warriors’ late game fightback for their second win in 10 outings.

The forward scored 13 of his game-high 26 points in the third canto and grabbed 15 rebounds in NorthPort’s penultimate assignment before closing its rather disappointing campaign on Sunday against San Miguel Beer.

Fran Yu added 21 points while Calvin Abueva added 19 markers, eight boards, four assists and five steals in an all-around effort for the Batang Pier, who lost Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference Arvin Tolentino first to an injury early in the tournament before eventually leaving the team to play Seoul SK Knights in the Korean Basketball League.

“The coaching staff, especially coach Bonnie (Tan), always remind the team to play hard every game. We practice hard and try to show in practice that we really want to win with the personnel that we have. It’s just that we’ve been coming short,” NorthPort assistant coach Rensy Bajar said.

“But this time, our players showed their willingness to win. That’s what happened in this win against NLEX,” he added about his squad, which came back from 11-points down in the first half.

The Batang Pier survived some scary moments in the fourth quarter when NLEX winger Rob Herndon sank three of his four free throws with 31 seconds remaining to close the gap to just two points.

Yu slipped past the Road Warriors’ defense for an insurance layup in the next play before Flores iced the game with a split from the line in the last six ticks.

The Road Warriors ended their elims run with an 8-3 slate and will wait for their final seeding and opponent in the next round.

Herndon finished with 21 points, Robert Bolick and Brandon Ramirez had 16 each while Kevin Alas and Jonnel Policarpio submitted 12 markers apiece for NLEX.

Rookie Xyrus Torres and JB Bahio had 11 points each in a lost cause.