NORTHPORT came back from the grave to nip Terrafirma, 124-117, and stretch its winning streak in the PBA Governors Cup on Saturday.
Import Jamel Artis finished with 31 points, veteran Arwind Santos had 28, while rookie Jamie Malonzo and Robert Bolick scored 21 each as the Batang Pier rallied back from a 19-point deficit to pull off the win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bolick also had 17 assists in the win that evened the record of the Batang Pier at 5-5 and in serious contention for a playoffs berth.
Arwind Santos and Co. have evened their record after a 0-5 start.
Santos sparked the Batang Pier’s telling spurt in the fourth quarter behind a 12-5 surge that broke the game’s final deadlock and gave the team the needed finishing kick to pull off the win.
NorthPort is now tied with defending champion Barangay Ginebra and Phoenix for seventh to ninth places, and could at least earn a playoffs for the eighth and final quarterfinals berth should it extends the longest winning streak in franchise history to six by beating TNT Tropang Giga in its final elimination game.
“The five wins is nothing kung hindi namin mapapanalo yung last game. So the target is our next game which is TNT,” said coach Pdio Jarencio.
“We’ll go all-out against TNT.”
The 17 assists by Bolick was a career-high and the most by any player since Kiefer Ravena dished off the same number of assists in NLEX’s 113-111 overtime win over Barangay Ginebra in Dubai during the 2019 Governors Cup.
Like Bolick, Malonzon also posted a double-double as he grabbed a total of 12 rebounds.
The loss was another heartbreaker for Terrafirma, which again failed to protect a big lead and suffered a fourth straight setback.
The Dyip (2-8) was led by the 40 of import Antonio Hester, who also grabbed 18 rebounds.
Hester was at the forefront for Terrafirma early on, scoring 16 of his points in the second period before the Dyip roared to a 67-48 lead with late in the first half.
Rookie Joshua Munzon led all Dyip locals with 24 points, while Juami Tiongson and Ed Daquioag added 18 and 10 respectively.
The scores
NorthPort (124) – Artis 31, Santos, 28, Bolick 21, Malonzo 21, Ferrer 11, Balanza 4, Taha 4, Doliguez 2, Rike 2.
Terrafirma (117) – Hester 40, Munzon 24, Tiongson 18, Daquioag 10, Calvo 8, Go 5, Camson 4, Ramos 4, Cahilig 2, Pascual 2, Batiller 0.
Quarterscores: 35-33; 57-69; 96-97; 124-117.
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