GAMES TOMORROW
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. – TNT vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. – Ginebra vs. NorthPort
WITH their gritty foes breathing down hard on their necks, NorthPort import Kadeem Jack asked for the ball from Joshua Munzon, powered his way to his right before spinning left and rising for a tough fall-away jumper off Ginebra big man Troy Rosario last night.
Finally showing a lot of fight this time, the desperate Batang Pier fashioned a 108-103 victory over the Kings in Game 4 of their best-of-7 semifinals series in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 6-foot-9 Jack flexed his muscles and let out a thundering roar after his basket made it a 106-103 game in the last 19.3 seconds.
NorthPort then forced two crucial stops on Kings star reinforcement Justin Brownlee’s layup and a Stephen Holt missed three-pointer.
Batang Pier gunner Arvin Tolentino knocked down two free throws that pegged the final count, only 8.5 ticks to go.
Assistant coach Rensy Bajar pointed to their charges’ new-found energy and intensity, especially on the defensive end, that propelled them to the triumph that atoned for a 100-127 rout at the hands of Ginebra in the third tiff and cut the racr-to-4 series deficit 1-3.
“Siguro iyon nga iyong No. 1 na pinoint out ng coaching staff especially ni (coach) coach Bonnie (Tan) especially in the past three games iyong energy and aggressiveness namin especially on defense then ngayon wala kaming masabi sa ipinakita ng players,” Bajar, who spoke in lieu of Tan, said. “Lalo na during the first part of the game na talagang nandoon iyong defense from the backcourt hanggang sa frontcourt ng Ginebra.
“Nasunod namin iyong gusto naming gawin, nasunod ng players, iyon ang pinaka-importante doon na they play as a team especially on defense,” he added.
Jack wound up with game-highs of 39 points and 15 rebounds, on top of five assists, while Tolentino broke out of his slump and notched 20 markers, nine dimes, and 11 boards.
William Navarro had 16 and five while Joshua Munzon and Paolo Taha added 14 and 11 points, respectively for NorthPort.
The Batang Pier took a 54-50 buffer at the half they padded to 63-52 on a Taha trey at the 9:52 mark of the third quarter.
NorthPort still held an 84-74 edge going into the payoff period.
Brownlee paced the Kings with 18 points, seven caroms, and four feeds while RJ Abarrientos had 18 markers.
Rosario, Holt, Jamie Malonzo, and Scottie Thompson also had 17, 15, 12, and 11 points, respectively, for Ginebra.
The Batang Pier’s triumph will be in vain if they fail to get the job anew in Game 5 for tomorrow at the same venue.
