Fran Yu leads NorthPort past Ginebra, boosts stock ahead of PBA Draft
Fran Yu. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Fran Yu may have boosted his stock before putting his name in this year’s Rookie Draft after leading NorthPort to a 101-95 win over Barangay Ginebra in the lone PBA On Tour game held Saturday in Batangas City.
Yu scored 21 points spiked by six three-pointers as the Batang Pier were able to get out of the capital city of Batangas province with the victory.
NorthPort prevailed for the third straight time after dropping two in a row to open the exhibition series.
It was the best game for the former Letran sniper, who was among the handful of players who took advantage of the PBA’s decision to allow prospective draftees to be signed by teams in the On Tour.
He’s not just the only reason why NorthPort got the result inside the Batangas City Sports Center.
Paul Zamar scored 16 points, center JM Calma bucked foul trouble to also finish with 16 points while grabbing six rebounds and Arvin Tolentino added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Ginebra fell to 1-3 in the series, spoiling Jeremiah Gray’s strong showing after enduring a shooting slump.
Gray dropped 26 points on 10-of-25 shooting and added 11 rebounds and three assists for the Gin Kings.
The Batang Pier trailed 39-29 with less than seven minutes to go but Zamar led a comeback spree that put them ahead 45-41 at the break.
NorthPort led throughout the second half with the result secured off three rainbow shots from Yu, the last made the score at 96-86 with 1:16 left in the contest.
The scores:
NORTHPORT 101—Yu 21, Zamar 16, Calma 16, Tolentino 15, Munzon 8, Bauzon 8, Salado 8, Ayaay 5. Balagasay 2, Comboy 2, Gabriel 0, Olivario 0.
GINEBRA 95—Gray 26, Pessumal 16, David 15, Pinto 14, Mariano 10, R. Aguilar 9, Onwubere 3, Gumaru 2, Dillinger 0, Cu 0, Aurin 0.
Quarters: 17-32, 45-41, 68-63, 101-95.
