Give And Go
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
“If you build a team with talent, the wins will come.”
This slightly different take on the popular quote “If you build it, they will come” from the 1989 movie Field of Dreams could well describe the Northport Batang Pier in the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.
Okay, the Batang Pier are still surrendering some things here and there to the other teams, but there is no denying that because of the personnel moves they have made recently, they now have a team that is making things happen.
And this determined push to form a more competitive team has allowed Northport to make a spirited push late in the season-ending PBA tournament, taking it as far as the semifinals at the moment, something it only experienced once before.
Christian Standhardinger, Jerramy King, Russell Escoto, Sol Mercado, Kevin Ferrer and Jervy Cruz, acquired via trades in the last six months, have fortified the squad, which is bearing good results just as the ongoing season of the PBA hits the homestretch.
Add to this the addition of explosive import Michael Qualls, himself a mid-tournament replacement in the Governors’ Cup.
Was on the cusp of missing out on the playoffs altogether, the Batang Pier found themselves suddenly clicking collectively as the eliminations drew to a close, winning their last two games to make their way to the quarterfinals as the eighth-seeded team.
In the quarterfinals, the charge of Northport continued, bucking a twice-to-win disadvantage to fashion out a huge upset of top seeds NLEX Road Warriors, which was capped by an epic triple overtime victory in their do-or-die.
In the semifinals, the Batang Pier drew first blood over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in their best-of-five engagement on Dec. 14 by a wide margin of 124-90.
In Game Two on Monday night though the streak of Northport was halted by the Kings, who bounced back big time with a 113-88 victory.
But despite their run being stopped, the Batang Pier have shown that they are a very dangerous team now more than ever, especially if allowed to do their thing.
Standhardinger, in particular, is a huge addition for Northport.
Mo Tautuaa was steady before he was swapped for “C-Stan” in a deal with the San Miguel Beermen but the latter is proving to be what the doctor ordered for the Batang Pier.
With his tremendous motor on both ends of the court, Standhardinger has been helping in propelling the Northport machine since coming to the club in October with much effectiveness, with the rest of the team responding to what he brings to the plate.
Mercado and Cruz have been a veteran presence along with mainstay Sean Anthony while Ferrer, Escoto and King shore up the team’s young crew, which includes Paolo Taha and Garvo Lanete.
The coaching staff, led by Pido Jarencio, is to be commended, too, for what it has been able to do with all the movements Northport had involved itself in; crafting a system that gathers the strengths of the personnel it has in its disposal to have a fighting squad out on the court each time.
Considering where they stand right now, and mind you, guards Robert Bolick and Jonathan Grey are still out because of injury, the Batang Pier are in a far better form now than in any time in its PBA existence in my opinion.
Whether they can keep such team intact is another question since in this day and age in the PBA one of the constants it seems is player movement.
But as a fan of Asia’s first play-for-pay league, I do hope they get to keep the team they have and build further on it so as stretch parity which could only be good for the PBA moving forward.
On another note, I would just like to thank all the readers of BusinessWorld and this column for sticking with us for the Year 2019. Here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Have a good one, kids!
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
