Issuing a statement of its own, NorthPort burst the bubble of Converge by way of a 135-109 beatdown to put together its first winning streak of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, Tuesday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Arvin Tolentino, after a 10-10-9 performance versus Terrafirma in the last game, was assertive on scoring this time and erupted for a new career-high 51 points to steer the Batang Pier to their second victory in a row.
The star forward hit his 51st — also the new franchise record — with a jumper from the post with exactly two minutes left to play, pushing their lead to 125-104 as they went on to improve their record to 2-1 in Group A.
He shot 55.6-percent from the floor and went a perfect 16-for-16 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds and three assists in 41 minutes.
“‘Di ko rin masabi. Speechless,” exhaled a shocked Tolentino upon learning that he’s the first local since Stanley Pringle in 2018 to score 50 in a game.
“I was hot noong start pa lang ng game. and I felt na maganda yung tinatakbo ng team especially in transition and on defense,” he continued. “Siguro, suwerte lang na dumarating sa akin ‘yung bola, and nashu-shoot ko naman.”
Tolentino already had 22 in the first half, leading his side to a 68-50 edge entering the break before powering another strong surge in the last two quarters as the whole crew was apparently fired up by a recent issue online.
FiberXers assistant Danny Ildefonso dished out “farm team” allegations on Facebook as he commented about the contract situation of his son, Dave, with the Batang Pier, who picked the latter at fifth in the Season 49 Draft.
“Prior to the game, we opened that up,” disclosed head coach Bonnie Tan. “I think we were all challenged by that statement.”
NorthPort did show how challenged they were as four other players scored in twin digits in the win. Joshua Munzon, for one, finished with 19 points and five steals in another proof why he’s part of the Season 48 All-Defensive Team.
Jio Jalalon made 13 points and five assists. Damie Cuntapay was the surprise spark with 11 points on a 4-of-4 clip from the field, while William Navarro submitted 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block.
The Batang Pier will look to make three consecutive wins when they take on Meralco on Sunday, September 1, 7:30 p.m. in the same venue.
Scotty Hopson, on the other hand, had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists to lead Converge, which was coming off a thrilling 96-95 triumph over TNT before falling to its second loss in four outings at the hands of NorthPort.
Alec Stockton had a 19-6-5 stat line while Justin Arana made 16, although he left the game at the 8:03-mark of the fourth due to an ankle sprain. Deschon Winston had 16 as well, while Bryan Santos added 12 in the defeat.
The FiberXers will try to bounce back against the Bolts also on September 4, Wednesday, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.
The Scores:
NorthPort 135 – Tolentino 51, Munzon 19, Jalalon 13, Cuntapay 11, Navarro 10, Yu 6, Jois 6, Bulanadi 6, Nelle 5, Amores 4, Onwubere 2, Taha 2, Flores 0, Tratter 0.
Converge 109 – Hopson 24, Stockton 19, Arana 16, Winston 16, Santos 12, Racal 8, Delos Santos 6, Nieto 4, Maagdenberg 2, melecio 2, Cabagnot 0, Caralipio 0, Fleming 0, Ambohot 0, Andrade 0.
Quarterscores: 38-24, 68-49, 100-77, 135-109.
