NorthPort start Arvin Tolentino in the PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA Images
From an offensive machine, NorthPort successfully transitioned into a defensive-minded team on Sunday and shut down Meralco, 90-85, for a second straight win that kept the Batang Pier within striking distance of the surprise PBA Philippine Cup leader.
“The challenge for them is to play better defense to get longer minutes [on the floor],” NorthPort coach Bonnie Tan said after their third win in four games overall. “They have to do well defensively, not just score.”
The 16 points each of JM Calma and Arvin Tolentino were enough to lead the Batang Pier, whose defense met the Meralco offense at halfcourt all game long and doomed the Bolts to a third loss also in four matches.
READ: PBA: JM Calma breaks out of slump to lead NorthPort
“We were giving up lots of points [in past games] but now playing against Meralco, we were very good in executing the half court defense. That’s what we emphasized in the pregame. Slowly, we’re getting stops and we’re doing it against a team like Meralco.”
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra waltzed to a second straight win later in the night after easily ripping Phoenix, 102-92.
The Gin Kings wriggled free from a tight first half using a big third quarter before holding off the suddenly-struggling Fuel Masters the rest of the way to inch closer to the early elimination round lead being held by Blackwater.
READ: PBA: Northport relishes ‘luxury’ of having well-balanced crew
The Fuel Masters slumped to their second consecutive defeat, a start that is a far cry from how they fared in the Commissioner’s Cup where import Johnathan Williams towed them all the way to the Final Four.
Calma also had eight rebounds, turning in numbers that definitely impressed Tan and the rest of the coaching staff. He came from a two-point outing when the Batang Pier scored a 124-120 win over Phoenix last week.
“I’ve been having bad games, so I guess my hard work was rewarded in this game somehow,” said the San Sebastian product. The win was the second in three days for the Kings, who were led by Jamie Malonzo.
Ginebra also played without former Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson, who was out because of a back injury that has bothered the do-it-all guard since the Fiba Asia Cup window last month.
Holding a 47-43 lead at the turn, the Gin Kings flipped the switch in the third frame when they went on a 13-7 run to start the second half, courtesy of triples from Ralph Cu, John Pinto and Malonzo to take a 60-50 lead at the 7:47 mark of the third. A week since that controversial brawl, where Malonzo was at the losing end, became viral online, the hard-nosed guard scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds in just 34 minutes.
Only Maverick Ahanmisi failed to score in twin digits from among Tim Cone’s starters. But Ginebra still had five players in twin digits with Stanley Pringle coming off the bench to finish with 13 points.