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MANILA, Philippines—NorthPort extended its winning run to three straight games as it took down Phoenix, 101-93, to climb in the ninth spot in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup Saturday at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Batang Pier, who started the conference with five straight losses, improved to 3-5 and stayed in the hunt for a quarterfinals slot while the Fuel Masters dropped their third consecutive game and slid to eight at 4-5.
The Batang Pier eventually took a sizable 74-63 after Jamel Artis knocked down a three-pointer that capped a 9-3 run with 3:10 to play in the third quarter
Artis SPLASH!
74-63 NorthPort #PBAiTuloyAngLaban pic.twitter.com/k6AvbUm9Ym
— PBA (@pbaconnect) February 26, 2022
“The team’s fighting heart was on display there, they also had a will to win,” said NorthPort head coach Pido Jarencio in Filipino. “A win is a win for us and we went up in the standings.”
Artis finished with a game-high 29 points with six rebounds as he played all 48 minutes for the undermanned Batang Pier who are missing the injured Kevin Ferrer and point guard Robert Bolick. Bolick is with Gilas for the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Artis wala, Malonzo to the rescue.
81-70 para sa NorthPort. #PBAiTuloyAngLaban pic.twitter.com/XinunzpGij
— PBA (@pbaconnect) February 26, 2022
Jamie Malonzo recorded a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds for NorthPort while Paolo Taha added 19 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, off the bench. Arwind Santos pitched in 15 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.
Dominic Sutton led Phoenix with 23 points and 12 rebounds while Matthew Wright and RJ Jazul added 22 and 20 points, respectively.