MANILA, Philippines – It’s never over until it’s over for the NorthPort Batang Pier.
Down by 17 points with nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter, NorthPort took advantage of a careless Converge FiberXers squad and eked out a 112-104 overtime escape for its first win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, March 3.
Arvin Tolentino showed the way for the Batang Pier with a near triple-double of 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists, while Joshua Munzon got the job done on both ends with 17 markers, 6 boards, 6 steals, and 2 blocks.
“The players did not give up,” said NorthPort head coach Bonnie Tan of his wards.
“It was a collective effort on our team defense. We noticed that Converge doesn’t have a natural guard so we took advantage on the backcourt pressure.”
With Converge threatening to pull away with an 84-67 lead, courtesy of a Mike Nieto layup, NorthPort came alive and went on a fiery 14-0 blast to cut the deficit to just 3, 81-84, with 6:30 left to play.
The Batang Pier eventually stole the lead from the reckless FiberXers, 93-91, off a Cade Flores layup at the 2:18 mark of the final frame, before both teams exchanged buckets in the crucial stages of the ball game.
Tied at 96-all after a clutch three by Converge guard Alec Stockton, Tolentino then had a golden opportunity to win it all for NorthPort in the final possession of the fourth quarter, but the Batang Pier star couldn’t connect on his potential game-winning triple.
In overtime, NorthPort easily pulled away from Converge as the FiberXers kept missing their shots, leading to wide-open baskets in transition for the Batang Pier.
Will Navarro had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Flores put up his own version of a double-double of 14 markers and 14 boards for NorthPort.
Stockton paced Converge with 27 points, while Justin Arana tallied 25 markers, along with 8 turnovers in the sorry loss.
Overall, Converge tallied 31 turnovers – 15 coming in the fourth quarter alone.
The Batang Pier improved to a 1-1 slate, while the FiberXers fell to 0-2.
The Scores
NorthPort 112 – Tolentino 31, Munzon 17, Navarro 16, Flores 14, Yu 8, Bulanadi 8, Calma 7, Zamar 5, Paraiso 3, Adamos 2, Taha 1, Rosales 0, Lucero 0, Chan 0.
Converge 104 – Stockton 27, Arana 25, Santos 11, Nieto 6, Ambohot 6, Fornilos 5, Winston 5, Caralipio 4, Delos Santos 3, Melecio 3, Zaldivar 3, Vigan-Fleming 2, Maagdenberg 2, Balanza 2.
Quarters: 19-26, 42-53, 65-80, 96-96 (reg.), 112-104 (OT).
– Rappler.com