NorthPort rallied back from as much as 18 down and left Converge a frustrated bunch in overtime, 112-104, to barge into the win column of the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Joshua Munzon opened up the scoring in extra time, before Cade Flores and William Navarro capitalized on breakaway opportunities to help put together the crucial 6-0 run toward a 102-96 lead with 2:56 left to play.
That proved enough for the Batang Pier to be in control the rest of the way en route to notching win no. 1 after bowing to NLEX in OT last Friday.
It was a display of how much the young squad learned from that loss as they outscored the FiberXers, 16-8, in extra time to finish strongly after seeing themselves staring at a 68-50 deficit during the third quarter.
“We made sure na hindi na mangyayari ulit ‘yung last game,” offered head coach Bonnie Tan post-game.
Arvin Tolentino showed the way with 31 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists, together with two steals and a block as he willed NorthPort from the massive deficit by steadying and steering their ship in the fourth quarter.
Third-year guard Munzon contributed 17 points on 50-percent shooting, on top of six rebounds, a career-high six steals, and a pair of blocks.
Navarro, in his second game back from an ACL injury, came through with 16 points and 11 rebounds, on top of three assists, a steal, and three blocks.
Rookie Flores delivered a double-double of his own with 14 points and the same number of rebounds, motivated to perform after being snubbed in the Rookies-Sophomores-Juniors Game in the PBA All-Star Bacolod 2024.
Alec Stockton, on the other hand, paced Converge with 27 points, including the triple that tied the game at 96-all with 10.9 seconds left in the fourth, eventually sending the game into OT after Tolentino missed his own attempt from deep.
Justin Arana tossed in 25 points and 13 rebounds but committed eight of the FiberXers’ 31 turnovers — 17 in the fourth and OT — as they struggled against NorthPort’s defense, which saw the latter collect 19 steals.
Big man Bryan Santos added 11 in the loss, which saw the wards of Coach Aldin Ayo lose hold of an 84-67 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Scores:
NorthPort 112 – Tolentino 31, Munzon 17, Navarro 16, Flores 14, Bulanadi 8, Yu 8, Calma 7, Zamar 5, Paraiso 3, Adamos 2, Taha 1, Rosales 0, Lucero 0, Chan 0.
Converge 104 – Stockton 27, Arana 24, Santos 11, Nieto 6, Ambohot 6, Winston 5, Fornilos 5, Caralipio 4, Zaldivar 3, Melecio 3, Delos 2, Fleming 2, Maagdenberg 2, Balanza 2.
Quarterscores: 19-26, 42-53, 65-80, 96-96, 112-104.
