NORTHPORT SIZZLES; PBA REVISES SCHEDULE
Northport finally barged into the win column after demolishing Phoenix, 115-79, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup yesterday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Batang Pier were impressive as their young guns stepped up despite missing the services of big man Greg Slaughter to coast to their first win in this special season held under closed-circuit setup.
Robert Bolick, Kevin Ferrer and Troy Rike led the scoring parade with 20 points apiece for the Batang Pier, who improved their win-loss card to 1-1.
Rookie Jamie Malonzo and Sidney Onwubere delivered with 15 markers each while Paolo Taha added 12 markers and seven rebounds.
Batang Pier coach Pido Jarencio said they are now getting the groove that they need to spark a run in the elimination round of the All-Filipino tourney.
“We fixed one thing for this game and that is defense. We set our rules for it,” Jarencio said following their second biggest win in franchise history behind their 44-point beating of Star, 123-79, in the eliminations of Philippine Cup in 2017.
“If we can make stops, then we can get our flow for offense. And we saw that our players were very responsive.”
After posting a 50-31 lead at the half, the Batang Pier shifted its offense to higher gear as Bolick and Ferrer connived to pad the cushion to 30 points, 77-47, heading into the final canto.
We fixed one thing for this game and that is defense. We set our rules for it.
RJ Jazul and Jason Perkins found their rhythm in the opening of the fourth, but their run was quickly foiled as Rike sank four consecutive triples that pushed the gap to 34, 99-65, with only seven minutes left in the game.
Vic Manuel delivered with 26 points and four rebounds for Phoenix, which fell to 0-2.
Meanwhile, the PBA was forced to revise the schedule of its upcoming games after four TNT Tropang Giga player contracted coronavirus.
Instead of a triple-header game on 23 July, the league will only be featuring a pair of matches between defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Blackwater at 3 p.m. while San Miguel and NLEX will face off in the 6 p.m. featured encounter.
The games on 24 July were also altered as Meralco will face Rain or Shine at 2 p.m., followed by the 4:35 p.m. match between Alaska and Phoenix.
“We will change the schedule of the games. We cannot announce the new schedule of other games yet, but we might release it weekly instead,” Marcial told Daily Tribune.
Marcial said the entire
Tropang Giga team has been put under seven-day isolation and underwent retest yesterday while Terrafirma, whom TNT faced over the weekend, has also been isolated based on the league’s protocols.
“They will still be isolated for seven days. They were tested on Wednesday, then another confirmatory test on the seventh day,” he said.
The Scores:
NORTHPORT (115) — Bolick 20, Rike 20, Ferrer 20, Malonzo 15, Onwubere 15, Taha 12, Elorde 6, J. Faundo 4 , Balanza 3, Doliguez 0.
PHOENIX (79) — Manuel 26, Wright 15, Perkins 12, Jazul 8, Garcia 6, Melecio 4, Demusis 2, Chua 2, Pascual 2, Rios 2, B. Faundo 0, Muyang 0, Napoles 0, Tamsi 0
Quarters: 22-18, 50-31, 79-51, 115-79.