BACK-TO-BACK FOR BATANG PIER
GLOBALPORT wants to have a mini-run going and got that.
The Batang Pier showed no mercy against Blackwater and notched a cruising 101-78 victory Sunday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Terrence Romeo scored a game-high 25 points while Calvin Warner posted a new franchise record and league season high 30 rebounds as GlobalPort notched a follow up to its 18-point demolition of Barako Bull last Wednesday and jacked its overall record to 4-3.
It was GlobalPort’s first back-to-back wins under Gonzales whose team registered new franchise and season best marks of 74 total rebounds, pleasing their coach who said it only showed his players took his pre-game words to heart.
“Mga players nag-re-respond sila,” said Gonzales. “Iyun ang challenge ko sa kanila, na di p’wedeng average lang, di dahil Blackwater iyan. Walang mahinang teams sa PBA. Iyun ‘yung ipapamanhik ko sa kanila. Iyung word na mediocrity, okay-okay lang, ayaw talaga namin iyon.”
Marcus Douthit had 19 points and 17 rebounds and Brian Heruela 17 points and seven assists, but Blackwater still absorbed a second straight loss following an upset of San Miguel Beer, thus far the Elite’s only win in 17 games in the league.
Ronjay Buenafe and Stanley Pringle helped dispel any Blackwater threat by combining for 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while doing their part in a sustained breakaway that had GlobalPort posting as much as a 90-63 spread, only 7:38 left.
Warner actually only had four points in the fourth, but those came off follow-up dunks that further stoked GlobalPort’s zeal. The first throwdown was off a Romeo miss that made it a 76-56 count and the second a reverse, two-handed jam to give the Batang Pier that 27-point separation.
Although Buenafe also highlighted his game with a breakaway, left-handed dunk that made it 72-53 and Pringle his own moments, it was inarguably Romeo who was the most consistent among the Batang Pier.
Romeo and Buenafe each scattered six points during a second quarter breakaway that saw GlobalPort start to break the game open by taking a 50-37 halftime lead, before completing the lopsided win with 10 points in the fourth period. (NC)
The scores:
GLOBALPORT 101 – Romeo 25, Warner 17, Buenafe 15, Pringle 10, Isip 9, Ponferada 8, Taha 6, Miranda 4, Caperal 4, Semerad 3, Pinto 0, Baclao 0, Jensen 0, De Ocampo 0.
BLACKWATER 78 – Douthit 19, Heruela 17, Gamalinda 9, Reyes 7, Celiz 6, Bulawan 6, Acuna 6, Faundo 4, Canada 2, Salvacion 2, Timberlake 0, Nuyles 0, Erram 0, Ballesteros 0, Laure 0.
Quarterscores: 21-20, 50-37, 74-56, 101-78
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