Greg Slaughter showed what difference he can bring in the endgame as he helped NorthPort withstand Rain or Shine in overtime, 91-88, in the 2021 Honda PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor.
The 7-foot center blocked Gabe Norwood’s potential game-tying trey as time expired, and the Batang Pier finally got back in the win column after back-to-back losses – including last Friday’s heartbreaking defeat to Magnolia.
Slaughter proved that he is no longer affected by that controversial late-game decision of his coaches versus the Hotshots. He turned in a stellar performance with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and a tournament-best six blocks.
“‘Yung pasok namin, natalo tayo against TNT. And then a controversial loss against Magnolia, which is, actually, I’m very apologetic to Greg and to the rest of the team,” said head coach Pido Jarencio. “We patched things up.”
Robert Bolick finished with 24 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in the win.
NorthPort improved to 5-5 and remain sixth in the standings.
The third-year guard joined hands with Slaughter for a 6-0 run that gave their side an 88-84 lead with 1:40 remaining in the game. Then Sean Anthony and Kevin Ferrer helped out to keep the opposition at bay.
The Batang Pier, though, faced a serious threat when Jamie Malonzo fouled James Yap while he tried to take a triple with 5.6 seconds left. Surprisingly, the two-time league MVP missed all three of his free throws.
NorthPort had a chance to widen its lead, but Malonzo failed to atone for his foul on Yap. He missed both of his charities with 3.8 ticks to spare.
Fortunately, the Elasto Painters did not finish the job on the other end either. Slaughter caught the shot of Norwood from the left corner.
“A lot of frustration last time, any time you lose a game. But that makes us hungrier for the next one. We trust in each other, coach Pido. And we knew that we had to move on to the next one,” Slaughter said.
The Batang Pier will now look to keep the momentum going against Alaska in their last assignment of the elimination round next week.
Jewel Ponferrada had 17 points to lead Rain or Shine in its last eliminations game. The Elasto Painters finished with a 6-5 card.
The Scores:
NorthPort 91 – Slaughter 25, Bolick 24, Anthony 9, Malonzo 8, Elorde 7, Lanete 6, Ferrer 4, Grey 4, Onwubere 3, Rike 1, Balanza 0, Doliguez 0.
Rain or Shine 88 – Ponferada 17, Belga 11, Yap 9, Santillan 9, Borboran 8, Torres 8, Mocon 8, Nambatac 6, Asistio 5, Norwood 3, Guinto 2, Caracut 2, Wong 0.
Quarterscores: 27-16, 42-37, 65-60, 80-80, 91-88.
