By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
THE NORTHPORT Batang Pier sailed to third win in as many games in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup after beating the TNT KaTropa, 110-86, on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Using a strong effort in the final 16 minutes of the contest that their opponents failed to match, the Batang Pier created enough distance to use as leverage in the end to book the win while sending the KaTropa (2-1) to their first defeat in the midseason PBA tournament.
On the lead of import Terrence Jones and local stalwarts Roger Pogoy and Jayson Castro, the KaTropa would take control much of the opening half but not without challenge from the Batang Pier.
TNT was up, 28-25, at the end of the first quarter before seeing the gap narrowed by Northport by halftime, 44-43.
The nip-and-tuck nature of the contest continued in the third frame, with the teams fighting to a 58-57 count, in favor of TNT, by the 6:02 mark of the quarter.
Mr. Pogoy then led the KaTropa to a 7-5 run after to give his team more breathing space, 65-62, with four minutes remaining.
But the Batang Pier were to sprint to flurry of a finish in the third led by Stanley Pringle, Garvo Lanete and Mo Tautuaa, outscoring the KaTropa, 15-0, to build a 12-point cushion, 77-65, heading into the fourth period.
Carrying much momentum, Northport opened the final canto smoking hot with rookie Robert Bolick making his presence felt.
The Batang Pier outscored the KaTropa, 18-10, in the first six minutes of the quarter to build a 20-point lead, 95-75.
TNT tried to regain some lost ground after but Northport had answers for its every attempt.
The lead was at 24 points, 106-82, with two minutes to go and the Batang Pier cruised to the win from there.
Mr. Pringle had 22 points in his first game back for Northport from injury.
Mr. Bolick had 21 points while import Prince Ibeh had 18 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks.
Troy Rosario, meanwhile, paced TNT with 22 points followed by Mr. Pogoy with 19.
Mr. Jones ended up with only 17 points, considerably below his tournament average of 42 points.
“I really don’t know what to say. We played near perfect basketball. Our defense was there and our offense was clicking. I’m happy for the team with this win,” said winning coach Pido Jarencio in the postgame press conference.
Northport next plays on June 1 against the defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings (1-1) while TNT returns on June 2 versus the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters.