NorthPort stuns Magnolia to 3-0 in PBA Comm's Cup

Kadeem Jack continued to be a dominant force for the now 3-0 NorthPort squad. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—NorthPort withstood a late dash from Magnolia to take a 107-103 win in their PBA Commissioner's Cup game on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Up by as much as 13 points, 94-81, midway in the fourth quarter, the Batang Pier found themselves in serious trouble of bottling the game when the Hotshots went on a 14-2 run that cut the lead down to one, 96-95, with 1:46 left.

Magnolia had two chances to retake the lead after Fran Yu missed a three-point attempt, but Joseph Eriobu missed a crucial layup and Sidney Onwubere blocked Ricardo Ratliffe's own shot.

Joshua Munzon then fired a pivotal four-pointer that sparked an 8-0 NorthPort run to up the lead back to nine, 104-95, with 29 seconds to play.

The Hotshots made things interesting as they went on an 8-1 run that cut the lead to two, 105-103, with nine seconds remaining, but Yu finally iced the Batang Pier's win with two free throws and a crucial steal.

Kadeem Jack led NorthPort, now 3-0 in the conference, with 30 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.

Arvin Tolentino added 27 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block, while Munzon contributed 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and five steals.

Jerom Lastimosa fired 27 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and two steals, while Ratliffe had 10 points, 13 rebounds, one block, and two steals for Magnolia, which fell to 1-2.

The Scores:

NORTHPORT 107 – Jack 30, Tolentino 27, Munzon 25, Yu 9, Nelle 5, Navarro 4, Flores 4, Onwubere 3, Bulanadi 0, Tratter 0, Miranda 0, Cuntapay 0

MAGNOLIA 103 – Lastimosa 27, Dela Rosa 16, Dionisio 13, Ratliffe 10, Eriobu 7, Sanaglang 6, Lucero 4, Ahanmisi 3, Abueva 3, Mendoza 0

QUARTERS: 28-31, 59-52, 77-78, 107-103

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