NORTHPORT survived a late Magnolia fightback to pull off a 113-110 win on Thursday and reach the semifinals of the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The top-seeded Batang Pier will play in the semifinals for only the third time in franchise history against either Barangay Ginebra or Meralco after putting an end to the Hotshots’ campaign in the conference.
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To do so, NorthPort had to overcome a desperate final stand by Magnolia led by Paul Lee, who made two four-pointers down the stretch to give the eighth-seeded Hotshots a shot at stealing it in the endgame.
Lee, however, missed a four-point attempt in the final seconds with the Hotshots down by three.
Kadeem Jack had 30 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, and three blocks for while Arvin Tolentino added 25 on 10-for-15 shooting for NorthPort, which overhauled a 10-point deficit thanks to a 36-15 third quarter.
William Navarro came off the bench and added 15 points and seven rebounds including a trey in a mini 5-0 blast that enabled NorthPort to build its biggest lead at 101-87.
“Every time, every practice, china-challenge ni coach Bonnie (Tan) especially ‘yung second group. Arvin, Josh (Munzon), and even Kadeem, pinaghahandaan na ‘yan ng team,” said NorthPort assistant coach Rensy Bajar.
"That’s why we need everybody to be involved not only on defense but also on offense," he added.
Magnolia led, 57-43, in the second quarter but NorthPort got back to its usual rhythm in the second half.
“In the first half, siguro masyado kaming tight and at the same time, gusto namin kaagad na manalo in the first quarter pa lang. Ganda rin ng depensa ng Magnolia. Aware naman kami doon kaya in the second half, we adjusted,” said Bajar.
The loss snapped Magnolia’s four-game winning streak that included one in the knockout match for the No. 8 spot against NLEX against Sunday.
Mark Barroca had 26 points and 10 assists, while Lee had 22 points on 3 of 4 shooting from four-point land in the Hotshots' final game of the conference.
The scores:
NorthPort 113 – Jack 30, Tolentino 25, Navarro 15, Bulanadi 12, Nelle 12, Flores 10, Munzon 5, Yu 4, Tratter 0, Taha 0.
Magnolia 110 – Barroca 26, Lee 22, Ratliffe 22, Lucero 13, Sangalang 7, Abueva 6, Dionisio 6, Dela Rosa 4, Lastimosa 4, Ahanmisi 0, Alfaro 0.
Quarters: 25-32; 47-61; 83-76; 113-110.
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