NorthPort stalls Terrafirma to open PBA Philippine Cup campaign

The NorthPort Batang Pier stalled the Terrafirma Dyip, 97-75, to open their PBA Philippine Cup campaign on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. NorthPort started strong as they outscored Terrafirma early, 24-13 in the first quarter, before taking a 47-38 lead by halftime. The Batang Pier continued to sail and had its biggest lead, 85-61, past the halfway mark of the final frame after a layup from Joshua Munzon before they sealed the win.

Arvin Tolentino was two rebounds shy of a triple-double as he stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, 12 assists, and eight boards, along with a steal and a block. "There's an X on my back kasi whenever a player wins an award, talagang meron nang ano (target). 'Yun 'yung isa sa wino-work ko, especially in practice, 'yung sharing the ball, making sure maganda ang read ko sa defense.



I can't rely on my scoring lang dahil I'm sure 'yung teams, 'yun ang unang titingnan sa akin so I need to be better on moving the ball, reading the defense. This game naging maganda ang result," said Tolentino, who won Best Player of the Conference in the recent Commissioner's Cup. Will Navarro, meanwhile, had his own double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists, one steal, and one block for NorthPort.

CJ Catapusan had 16 points to lead Terrafirma while Kevin Ferrer added 15 points as the Dyip suffered its second straight loss in the conference and slipped to 1-2. Scores: NorthPort 97 – Tolentino 19, Navarro 18, Munzon 15, Bulanadi 10, Onwubere 10, Cuntapay 8, Yu 6, Nelle 6, Flores 3, Taha 2, Miranda 0, Tratter 0, Nava 0. Terrafirma 75 – Catapusan 16, Ferrer 15, Sangalang 10, Paraiso 10, Nonoy 9, Melecio 3, Ramos 3, Pringle 2, Hernandez 2, Romeo 2, Olivario 2, Zaldivar 1, Hanapi 0.

Quarters: 24-13, 47-38, 70-58, 97-75. —JKC, GMA Integrated News.