MANILA – NorthPort Batang Pier gutted out another close win in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup after a 90-85 escape over Meralco Bolts on Sunday afternoon at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Leading by as much as 12 points in the first half, the Batang Pier suddenly figured in a tight game with the Bolts in the second half as the lead was cut to 85-88 on a layup by Chris Newsome with eight seconds left.
Newsome intentionally missed his free throw, but the Batang Pier managed to collar the rebound, which led to a fastbreak conversion by Cade Flores to extend the lead to 90-85 with two seconds remaining.
John Michael Calma finished with a conference-high of 16 points to go with eight rebounds, while Arvin Tolentino also ended with 16 markers as the Batang Pier secured its third consecutive win for a 3-1 win-loss slate.
Ilonggo Paul Zamar made his presence felt with 14 points, including three three-point conversions, while Flores contributed 13 markers, six rebounds, and six steals for NorthPort.
“Playing against Meralco, we know that they are coming back from a double-digit (deficit),” said Batang Pier head coach Bonnie Tan. “‘Yung ni-request ko lang sa team is ‘yung composure sa endgame kasi winning time, wala kwenta ‘yung sa first half.”
Aaron Black led the way with 18 points, while Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan added 15 and 12 markers, respectively, as the Bolts sustained its second straight defeat to drop to 1-3.
On Saturday night, NLEX Road Warriors relied on Robert Bolick Jr.’s career game as they scored a lopsided 115-93 victory over Converge FiberXers. The Road Warriors moved up to 3-1, while FiberXers dropped to 0-3.
From a slim 54-52 lead at the half, the Road Warriors started to pull away in the third period as they built an 84-71 before increasing it to as high as 20 points in the fourth quarter behind Bolick.
Bolick finished with a career-high of 46 points to lead the way for the Road Warriors, Robbie Herndon added 17 points, while Negrense rookie Jhan McHale Nermal and Baser Amer contributed 13 and 10, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
NORTHPORT 90 – Calma 16, Tolentino 16, Zamar 14, Flores 13, Adamos 7, Lucero 7, Chan 7, Munzon 6, Yu 4, Rosales 0, Bulanadi 0, Paraiso 0.
MERALCO 85 – Black 18, Newsome 15, Almazan 12, Quinto 8, Rios 6, Jose 6, Mendoza 6, Banchero 5, Maliksi 4, Torres 3, Hodge 2, Caram 0.
Quarterscores: 19-15, 43-43, 68-64, 90-85.
