NorthPort Batang Pier put an end to its two-game losing skid through a pulsating victory over the San Miguel Beermen.
Kadeem Jack, Arvin Tolentino, and William Navarro led NPBP to a 105-104 escape over the San Miguel in their PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup faceoff on Tuesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Tolentino was hailed as the Best Player of the Game, putting up 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block, and this helped NorthPort beat all SMC teams — San Miguel, Barangay Ginebra, and the Magnolia Hotshots — for the first time in a single conference in their franchise history.
”It’s a great feeling to create history like what we did today. It’s a great feeling for the franchise, and I guess, everyone was just, naniniwala lang sa isa’t isa,” said Tolentino during the postgame presser.
“If we stick together, enjoy the game, and believe that we can win nakikita natin na doon tumataas yung morale ng team. Maraming veterans yung San Miguel kaya hindi naging madali yun para sa amin. They are an experienced champion team,” he acknowledged.
Also starring in this historic triumph by the Batang Pier were Jack who had 38 markers, seven boards, four steals, and one rejection, while Navarro was solid with 17 points, four assists, four rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
Tied at 101 after NorthPort nearly squandered a 24-point lead, Jack made a crucial basket inside the paint to give his team a two-point, 103-101 lead at the 1:11 mark of the fourth.
Juami Tiongson then cut their deficit to a solitary point after his split from the 15-foot-line, while CJ Perez finally gave the Beermen the lead, 104-103, their first since the first quarter after he went perfect from the same area following a Tolentino miss.
Fortunately for head coach Bonnie Tan’s troops, Jack replied with a turnaround jumper for a 105-104 lead, and their defense also worked in the following play as they forced the Beermen to commit a 24-second shot clock violation.
The ball returned to the Batang Pier with 2.1 ticks left, and Tolentino, who was fouled by SMB in hopes of extending the game, opted to miss his shots from the foul line to leave their opponents without a chance to call a timeout for a proper play while also clinching their eighth victory in 11 games.
Earlier, the Batang Pier went strong to open the game, with Tolentino, Cade Flores, Jack, and Joshua Munzon making consecutive baskets for a 10-2 start in the first two minutes of the contest.
NorthPort continued its surge as the game progressed, at one point even leading by 24, 83-59, following a Navarro lay-in at the 5:28 mark of the third period, but the league’s perennial powerhouse came alive after this.
San Miguel closed out the third only trailing by 17, 91-74, and their six-to-one surge in the first minutes of the fourth eventually helped the Beermen to get as close as one, 99-98, following back-to-back lay-ins by Perez with only 3:06 left in the game.
Tolentino created a slim breathing room for NorthPort in their next possession all thanks to his perfect trip at the foul line, but SMB was quick to answer, this time through a June Mar Fajardo and-one, and it allowed them to tie the game at 101 with only two minutes and change remaining.
Unfortunately, San Miguel’s comeback hopes fell short, and they continued to sit at the eighth spot with a 4-6 record despite Fajardo’s 24-point, 15-rebound game, and Perez’s 21 markers, five boards, and four dimes.
The Scores:
NorthPort 105 – Jack 38, Tolentino 22, Navarro 17, Munzon 12, Nelle 6, Bulanadi 6, Tratter 2, Flores 2, Yu 0, Miranda 0, Cuntapay 0.
San Miguel 104 – Fajardo 24, Perez 21, Trollano 16, Tautuaa 14, Tiongson 10, Cruz 6, Pope 4, Lassiter 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 3, Ross 0.
Quarterscores: 32-22, 69-52, 91-74, 105-104.
