NORTHPORT promptly got back to winning ways in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, subduing guest team Eastern, 120-113, on Friday at the Philsports Arena.
The Batang Pier went on a scoring spree in the second quarter, pouring in 36 points behind the combined efforts of import Kadeem Jack and Arvin Tolentino.
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That was enough for Northport to gain control of the match. The Batang Pier then turned back repeated rallies by the Hong Kong-based squad.
Tolentino finished with 35 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 18 in the opening half. Jack led Northport with 38 points and was a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
The Batang Pier improved to a league-best 6-1 record, just three days after absorbing their first loss of the conference, 115-109, at the hands of the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
“Basically, we just took advantage of Eastern because they just travelled from Hong Kong. We just outrun them,” said Northport coach Bonnie Tan, pointing to Eastern's EASL home match against San Miguel two days ago.
Eastern has been in and out of the country, juggling its time playing in its domestic league, the East Asia Super League (EASL) and the Commissioner's Cup.
Last Wednesday, the guest team beat San Miguel in the EASL, 71-62.
"May advantage din kami (Batang Pier) kasi naglaro sila sa EASL the other day," noted Tolentino.
Eastern raced to a 29-21 lead in the first quarter, but played catch-up game the moment Northport went on a huge scoring run in the second period.
Import Chris McLaughlin led the Eastern side with 26 points and 19 rebounds, while Hayden Blankley also had a double-double of 24 and 10 rebounds.
The scores:
Northport (120) - Jack 38, Tolentino 35, Munzon 15, Navarro 10, Yu 9, Nelle 5, Flores 4, Onwubere 4, Bulanadi 0, Miranda 0, Cuntapay 0.
Eastern (113) - McLaughlin 26, Blankley 24, Lam 18, Yang 13, Guinchard 9, Chan 7, Xu 6, Cheung 4, Leung 3, Zhu 3, Pok 0.
Quarterscores: 27-32; 63-60; 90-87; 120-113.
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