NORTHPORT has been called a lot of things, mostly negative, by PBA fans over the years, centered around the perception that the ballclub is a ‘farm team’ of the San Miguel Corp. bloc.
So when the Batang Pier, the surprise PBA 49th Commissioner’s Cup leaders, went up against Barangay Ginebra on Wednesday, a team they've never beaten in five years, they played with a chip on their shoulder, wanting to prove the doubters wrong.
NorthPort continued to show that it is for real this conference when it led by as many as 18 points, showed composure amidst an ‘NSD-rally’ by Ginebra before coming away with a hard-earned 119-116 victory at the Philsports Arena.
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The Batang Pier improved to 7-1 to remain in first place in what has been an unlikely run this conference. According to PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon, it is already NorthPort’s highest win total since capturing nine in the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup.
“We challenged ‘yung players namin na ‘yung tonight’s game, it’s a statement game for us,” said NorthPort head coach Bonnie Tan. “Everyone is questioning about ‘yung status ng team, na hindi kami nananalo sa mga big teams.”
The all-out effort saw NorthPort snap a 14-game losing streak to Ginebra, with the Batang Pier’s previous victory over the Gin Kings coming last December 14, 2019 in a 124-90 result in Game One of the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals.
“I hope that with this win, we proved na we are here to win games. We are here to be competitive, na hindi ‘yung basta basta na team lang,” said Tan, a champion coach in the NCAA with Letran.
Joshua Munzon said the win over Ginebra only showed the progress the team has had this conference. Munzon was among the clutch players for NorthPort in the victory when he had 27 points, two rebounds, six assists, two steals, and one block.
“That was big,” said Munzon. “I think it just showed a level of maturity that we’ve kind of grown over these eight games, being able to close out games when it's tight and sticking together, getting stops when we need them, and playing in the crunch time like that."
“But when the game kept going back and forth like that, it's pretty fun to be out there. That's what we love to do, play basketball at the end of the day,” said Munzon.
Proving people wrong
Tan said they are not done proving people wrong as they intend to win as many games as possible in the home stretch where they still have four to play – three against traditional playoff contenders in Meralco, Rain or Shine, and San Miguel.
“If we can beat mga big teams, I’m sure we'll bring this momentum and confidence playing against the top three teams. Mabibigat ‘yung mga teams na naiwan... For sure, this game is a big win, and for sure, we’ll bring this momentum na kaya naming tumalo ng mga big teams,” said Tan.
With the quarterfinal spot most likely sealed with Wednesday’s result, NorthPort is in line for a top two finish which guarantees a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Tan doesn’t want his players to put too much pressure on themselves as they continue to occupy the top spot in the team standings. They want to take a step-by-step approach in which the goal is to make it at least in third to sixth spots where a best-of-three quarterfinals will be held.
“Before the start of the conference naman, our objective was to get to the quarterfinals. So ngayon, we're discussing also na to lessen the pressure, although we are on top right now, our target is best-of-three, para medyo pag hindi natin ma-achieve ‘yung top position sa standing, at least, we are in the middle, sa best-of-three. So after best-of-three, siguro doon na natin pag-uusapan ang twice-to-beat, said Tan.
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