Batang Pier, Painters rise

GlobalPort import Murphy Halloway loses possession on his way to the basket as two Kia Picanto defenders gang up on him. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ

GlobalPort dusted off the sluggishness and did away with the over-eagerness just in the nick of time to clip KIA Picanto, 102-90, on Sunday in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Batang Pier got the workout it needed as they await the return of its main gun for a big game happening in less than a week.

“I’m not saying this as an alibi, but a three-week layoff was hard on our part,” coach Franz Pumaren said after his Batang Pier needed a big second half to turn back the Picanto. “We were so sluggish, it’s like the team was just excited to be playing again.”

Import Murphy Holloway scored 29 points and had 18 rebounds and three others tossed in twin digits for the Batang Pier, who climbed to an even 2-2 record and picked up some confidence for their next game, which will be against powerhouse San Miguel Beer this Friday.

“It’s a weak team,” Pumaren said in jest when asked who they play next.

Markeith Cummings scored 37 points in almost singlehandedly carrying the fight for the Picanto, who slumped to a seventh straight loss and are likely to become the first casualties of the season-closing conference.
In the second game, Rain or Shine import J’Nathan Bullock scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as he led the Elasto Painters to a 105-73 blowout of TNT KaTropa.

The local Painters also hit their mark with 16 three-pointers as coach Caloy Garcia wards rose to 3-2, a full game ahead of their victims.

TNT’s new import Glen Rice Jr. produced 19 points and eight rebounds in his PBA debut.

Pumaren likewise talked with some excitement because Terrence Romeo, the leading scorer for Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba Asia Cup in Lebanon, could be returning for the game against the Grand Slam-seeking Beermen.

Romeo anchored a torrid finish by the Filipinos on Sunday night that keyed a 75-70 win over Jordan for seventh place at Nouhad Nawfal Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon.

Romeo, who scored 26 points in a 97-86 win over China, hit a triple, had an assist to Japeth Aguilar and forced the biggest Jordan turnover as the Filipinos prevailed in front of a huge crowd of overseas Filipino workers.