MANILA – NorthPort Batang Pier entered the win-column of the PBA Governors’ Cup after a dominant 112-93 victory over Terrafirma Dyip last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
William Navarro finished with a career-high of 31 points, with 24 coming in the second half, to go with five rebounds as the Batang Pier improved to a 1-1 win-loss slate.
Returning import Venky Jois added 16 markers, while Joshua Munzon and Arvin Tolentino contributed 14 and 10, respectively, as the Batang Pier bounced back from a 101-95 loss to TNT Tropang Giga last Tuesday.
The Batang Pier cruised to a strong start in the opening quarter behind Munzon for a 30-20 advantage. The Dyip had their run in the second quarter but NorthPort maintained a 51-43 halftime advantage.
In the third quarter, the Batang Pier got a huge lift from their centers Navarro and Jois for an 85-70 edge before it reached 20 points at 106-86 with under two minutes in the game.
Juan Miguel Tiongson led the 0-2 Dyip with 19 points, Stanley Pringle added 17 markers, Kevin Ferrer and Antonio Hester tallied 13 each, and Christian Standhardinger contributed 10 markers.
On Thursday night, John Paul Erram provided impact for the Tropang Giga in the second half to score a 93-73 victory over sister team Meralco Bolts. The Tropang Giga improved to 2-0, while the Bolts dropped to 1-1.
Down 39-41 at the half, the Tropang Giga turned things around in the third period behind inside conversions from Erram and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to establish a 70-57 advantage.
The lead grew further for the Tropang Giga in the fourth period with Rey Nambatac and Calvin Oftana connecting from the outside and Glenn Khobuntin knocking down inside hits as the lead reached its biggest at 24 points.
Hollis-Jefferson top-scored for the defending champions TNT with 25 points, Erram and Nambatac added 15 and 16 markers, while Oftana and Khobuntin contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
NORTHPORT 112 – Navarro 31, Jois 16, Munzon 14, Tolentino 10, Amores 8, Jalalon 8, Yu 7, Nelle 6, Tratter 5, Cuntapay 3, Bulanadi 2, Flores 2, Taha 0.
TERRAFIRMA 93 – Tiongson 19, Pringle 17, Hester 13, Ferrer 13, Standhardinger 10, Carino 9, Cahilig 5, Hernandez 5, Ramos 2, Olivario 0.
Quarterscores: 30-20, 51-43, 85-70, 112-93.
