Venky Jois wasted no time introducing himself as NorthPort escaped Terrafirma, 108-103, to begin their PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup campaign on a successful note, Friday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Australian import finished with 43 points on 19-of-27 shooting from the field, on top of 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block as he helped the Batang Pier gain enough separation in the endgame to leave with the victory.
Jois scored four in a 6-0 run for the 103-98 lead with 1:51 to go and also had a hand in staving off their gutsy foes in the final seconds.
He split his charities to make it a 104-101 edge with 31.6 ticks left before Arvin Tolentino and Fran Yu sealed the deal from the line as well.
“This is the first time that Venky is playing in Asia as an import. He played for several teams in Europe but they have multiple imports. I challenged Venky to perform and give us the first win,” head coach Bonnie Tan said.
It was the most points scored by an import in his debut since the Dyip’s Jordan Williams scored 46 in last season’s Governors’ Cup but the 30-year-old forward received ample support from the locals as well.
Tolentino produced 16 points. Joshua Munzon made 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists while Paul Zamar supplied 10 points.
Rookie Cade Flores was solid as well, almost ending up with a double-double as he registered nine points and 12 rebounds in his debut.
“We want to get this statement win because ang team namin maraming changes sa lineup,” said Tan. “We had a changing of the guards. So we just wanted to win… even if it was just a single point, two points, basta manalo.”
NorthPort will only have less than 48 hours to rest as it takes on Rain or Shine (0-1) this Sunday, 3 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Leading Terrafirma, meanwhile, was Juami Tiongson with 21 points. Import Thomas De Thaey made 21 points on 16 shots and seven rebounds.
Javi Gomez de Liano made 17 points while Eric Camson had 12 in the defeat that also spoiled the debuts of rooks Stephen Holt and Kemark Carino.
The no. 1 overall pick couldn’t find the mark offensively as he just went 2-for-9 from the floor and missed all five of his three-point attempts. Still, he finished with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals in 38 minutes.
Carino, on the other hand, showed flashes of being an effective floor spacer as he went 2-of-4 from deep and ended up with 10 points and nine boards.
The Dyip (0-1) will look for their win no. 1 of the season versus Blackwater (1-0) on November 15, Wednesday, 4 p.m. also at Ynares-Antipolo.
The Scores:
NorthPort 108 – Jois 43, Tolentino 16, Munzon 11, Zamar 10, Flores 9, Paraiso 5, Yu 3, Amores 3, Calma 2, Salado 2, Chan 2, Caperal 0, Ayaay 0.
Terrafirma 103 – Tiongson 21, De Thaey 20, Gomez de Liano 17, Camson 12, Holt 11, Carino 10, Alolino 6, Daquioag 2, Go 2, Ramos 2, Mina 0, Olivario 0, Calvo 0, Cahilig 0.
Quarterscores: 28-29, 51-53, 85-85, 108-103
