MANILA, Philippines – It took a slight bump in playing time for William Navarro to deliver the best scoring performance of his PBA career.
Navarro erupted for a career-high 31 points as NorthPort notched its first win in the PBA Governors’ Cup following a 112-93 beating of Terrafirma at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday, August 23.
Seeing action for 25 minutes, Navarro shot 13-of-20 (65%) from the field and added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals to help the Batang Pier bounce back from a season-opening 101-95 defeat to TNT three days prior.
The loss to the Tropang Giga saw the former Ateneo standout produce just 4 points with 6 rebounds and 1 steal in 20 minutes of play.
“I’m just confident. I know my shots are going to go in. It is not surprising for me,” said Navarro.
“Obviously, when I play more — which obviously coach gave me the opportunity — I’m going to deliver. I just have to be on the court more.”
Navarro spearheaded a feisty NorthPort attack aided by a solid double-double outing from comebacking import Venky Jois and a near triple-double performance by main man Arvin Tolentino.
Jois put up 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists to kick off his second PBA stint with the Batang Pier as he replaced Taylor Johns, who got the pink slip after just one game with the team.
Despite a masterful 36-point, 16-rebound, 9-assist showing against TNT, Johns still got the boot as NorthPort opted to bring back Jois after he led Batang Pier to the playoffs of the Commissioner’s Cup last season.
“Venky is our resident import. In terms of familiarity with our locals, he is there. He just did not make it to our first game, but he was here already,” said NorthPort head coach Bonnie Tan.
“We all know that [Johns] played well. We’re not going to get someone who is not good, but we just have a commitment with Venky based on our last conference.”
Tolentino posted 10 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals, while Joshua Munzon chimed in 14 points with 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Fran Yu contributed 7 points in the blowout, including a half-court shot worth 4 points that gave the Batang Pier a commanding 85-70 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Yu then opened the final frame with a three-pointer, sparking a 13-3 run that opened the floodgates as NorthPort improved to 1-1 in Group A.
Juami Tiongson tallied 19 points and 5 assists, Stanley Pringle had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, while import Antonio Hester churned out 13 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals for the Dyip, who fell to 0-2.
A Most Valuable Player candidate last season, Christian Standhardinger scored just 10 points on a 5-of-13 (38.5%) clip to go with 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss as his new team remained winless.
The Scores
NorthPort 112 – Navarro 31, Jois 16, Munzon 14, Tolentino 10, Amores 8, Jalalon 8, Yu 7, Nelle 6, Tratter 5, Cuntapay 3, Bulanadi 2, Flores 2, Taha 0.
Terrafirma 93 – Tiongson 19, Pringle 17, Hester 13, Ferrer 13, Standhardinger 10, Carino 9, Cahilig 5, Hernandez 5, Ramos 2, Olivario 0.
Quarters: 30-20, 51-43, 85-70, 112-93.
– Rappler.com