The Batang Pier’s ship finally got past the turbulent waters.
Robert Bolick and import Kevin Murphy joined hands in steering NorthPort to its first win in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup, taking down Terrafirma with a wire-to-wire 115-100 decision on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Bolick and Murphy, just like in their first two games, spearheaded the scoring for the erstwhile winless Batang Pier, but this time got ample support from the likes of JM Calma and Joshua Munzon to also give interim head coach Bonnie Tan his first win as head coach in the PBA.
Murphy finished with 28 points and nine rebounds but more importantly didn’t have to jack up a large volume of attempts unlike in the first two games, wounding up with a much-better 10-of-25 clip from the field.
Bolick added an all-around effort of 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists but it was the 18 points and nine rebounds of Calma and 17 points from Munzon which proved to be the difference as the Batang Pier kept the Dyip at bay in the second half after building a double-digit advantage in the first two quarters.
Tan admitted he heaved a huge sigh of relief, finally picking up the team's first win in the season-ending conference after six losses but he was also quick to deflect the credit to the overall team effort of his players.
“If you evaluate yung game lalo sa end game,nagstep up yung mga experienced players natin. We have captain ball Jeff Chan and main point guard si Robert Bolick yun yung mga nagclose out ng game na nadala tayo sa panalo. Everyone played well including Roi (Sumang) and Calma, mga role player natin ay nag-step up,” added Tan whose NorthPort improved to a 1-6 record in the standings after the wire-to-wire win.
The Batang Pier actually found their rhythm going in the second quarter where they unleashed a 16-3 run in the second quarter turning a 36-33 lead into a 52-36 advantage, eventually settling for a 61-47 lead at the break
Terrafirma displayed some fightback in the third frame when it cut the lead down to just three. 72-69, halfway through the quarter but Murphy, Munzon and Bolick took turns in carrying the NorthPort offense to restore order and take an 88-80 lead heading into the final frame.
From there, the Batang Pier kept the Dyip at bay with the former not letting the latter go on a huge run enough to threaten their double-digit lead.
Jordan Williams bounced back from a dismal 13-point performance last time out with 25 points while Juami Tiongson added 18 –all of which however went down the drain as Terrafirma absorbed its fourth-straight loss for a 2-6 slate.