William Navarro and NorthPort have had enough of the disrespect, and that proved enough to serve as an extra push for the crew to write a feat Thursday.
The Batang Pier showed a tough stand in the endgame and outlasted Magnolia to book the first seat to the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, marking the club’s return to the said stage after almost six years.
“We have a chip on our shoulder na people don’t talk about NorthPort even if we’re no. 1,” he said after their 113-110 win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
NorthPort came into the match armed with a win-once quarterfinal incentive and it no longer wasted the chance to maximize as much, showing the door to the same team it outlasted in their elimination round encounter last December.
That particular win against the traditional contenders served as a highlight of what had been a stupendous run by Coach Bonnie Tan’s wards on the way to finishing the said phase as the no. 1 team with a 9-3 record.
Ending up as the top seed equipped the Batang Pier a twice-to-beat advantage, marking the first time in franchise history that they’ve done both.
Yet Navarro and Co. felt that they weren’t being talked about enough, let alone recognized, thus the spirited play they put together to beat Magnolia.
The Ateneo product himself was key in the triumph, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds as he helped out in the come-from-behind win that sent the club to its first semis trip since the 2019 Governors’ Cup.
“It’s about team effort. I’m just happy that everyone, like in the second half, we shared the ball. That’s a key factor. Everybody’s effort nakita sa court,” he said.
It’s been quite a long time coming for a team hoping to reach the semis after falling short a few times in recent times, but they’re hardly satisfied.
“Underdog kami no matter what happens,” said the 28-year-old former Gilas stalwart. “So we’re not satisfied here. We want more.”
