Northport out to complete upset of top seed NLEX
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
HALFWAY into fashioning out an upset in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup, the Northport Batang Pier seek to complete the job in their 7 p.m. do-or-die match today with top seeds NLEX Road Warriors at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Held a twice-to-win disadvantage entering the playoffs, the eighth-seeded Batang Pier sent the quarterfinal pairing on equal footing with a 115-90 victory over the Road Warriors in their first game on Monday.
Import Michael Qualls led Northport in the wire-to-wire victory, finishing with 39 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
The Batang Pier got early control of the match and used it as leverage to create a good distance from the Road Warriors.
NLEX tried many times to fight its way back but Northport continuously found ways to frustrate them.
The Road Warriors managed to come within 14 points in a last-ditch effort in the fourth period to rally back but saw it zapped after Poy Erram and Paul Varilla got into a mix-up with Mr. Qualls with 4:54 to go.
It led to disqualifying fouls handed to the two NLEX players after review, which automatically sent them off the court, and risked missing the game today.
As of this writing, the PBA has yet to issue its decision on their fate for the do-or-die.
The fracas effectively halted the momentum of NLEX, which saw Northport run away with the victory after.
Christian Standhardinger backstopped Mr. Qualls in the Northport victory, finishing with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Sean Anthony had 12 points with Kevin Ferrer adding nine.
For NLEX, JR Quiñahan showed the way with 20 points, followed by Kiefer Ravena with 16. Mr. Harris was limited to just 12 markers.
“Our goal is to make it to the semifinals. We just executed our play and it really paid off for us. We’re hoping we get to sustain this in our next game,” said Northport coach Pido Jarencio after their win.
MAGNOLIA DETHRONED
Meanwhile, erstwhile defending champion Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok were dethroned by the TNT KaTropa in their quarterfinal pairing, winning, 98-97, on Monday.
Needed to buck a twice-to-win disadvantage, Magnolia fell short in its bid at the first instance as it was not able to stop the ferocious fourth-quarter comeback by the KaTropa to slump to the defeat and be eliminated.
After the loss, Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said they rued the missed opportunity to extend their reign but accepted what they were dealt.
“We need to improve both as a team and individually and come back stronger next season. The pieces are there for us, we just have to show more desire to win games,” he said.
