Arvin Tolentino waxed hot early as NorthPort handed TNT a humiliating 112-96 spanking to stretch their winning streak to four in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Friday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The star forward poured 22 of his 29 points in the first half, including 13 in the second period to help the Batang Pier sustain their 32-18 start and enter the break with a 61-34 lead to make it a one-sided show the rest of the way.
Tolentino shot 10-of-17 from the floor and also collected eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals as NorthPort improved to 4-1, hardly affected by the lengthy lay-off they got into due to the All-Star and Lenten breaks.
“‘Yung three-week break namin hopefully maka-contribute sa mindset ng mga players and the whole team na sa schedule namin, we have three weeks to play seven games,” said head coach Bonnie Tan post-game.
JM Calma was stellar as well in the win, finishing with a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds to help his side join NLEX at no. 2 in the team standings.
Joshua Munzon added 14 as all but two players scored at least two points in the victory that has made the Batang Pier one of the hottest teams in the tilt.
“We’re a young team. Maraming mga bata sa team namin and they’re hungry and trying to prove something sa liga. ‘Yun ‘yung malaking contribution kung bakit kami nagko-compete ngayon,” Tolentino said.
NorthPort will now head into a tough stretch ahead against SMC teams with a meeting versus Rain or Shine in between. The crew will start the trek versus Magnolia on April 10, 7:30 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Roger Pogoy, meanwhile, had 34 points to lead TNT in the loss, its worst since absorbing a 119-99 rout at the hands of San Miguel in last season’s Commissioner’s Cup, per league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
Rookie Kim Aurin had 18 points while Calvin Oftana added 13 markers for the Tropang Giga, which fell to 2-3 following the blowout defeat.
TNT, though, will have a chance to bounce back sooner as it faces Meralco in an all-MVP clash this Sunday also at NAS. Tip-off time is at 3 p.m.
The Scores:
NorthPort 112 – Tolentino 29, Calma 22, Munzon 14, Flores 9, Bulanadi 7, Navarro 6, Lucero 6, Taha 5, Rosales 4, Amores 3, Paraiso 3, Adamos 2, Zamar 2, Yu 0, Cuntapay 0.
TNT 96 – Pogoy 34, Aurin 18, Oftana 13, Galinato 7, Montalbo 6, Khobuntin 5, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Castro 4, Ponferrada 3, K.Williams 2, M.Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Reyes 0, Varilla 0, Heruela 0, Ebona 0.
Quarterscores: 32-18, 61-34, 85-57, 112-96.
