Joshua Munzon ushers pacesetting Northport to victory vs Ginebra
Northport finally snapped a 14-game losing streak after a nail-biting 119-116 win over Ginebra with Joshua Munzon playing a huge role in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday night, January 8, at the Philsports Arena.
“It’s a statement win for us,” declared Batang Pier head coach Bonnie Tan, whose team maintained its lead in the rankings with its impressive 7-1 win-loss record.
Despite Northport's explosive 5-0 conference debut, there were questions regarding the team's legitimacy. Tan hopes that his Batang Pier's thrilling victory over the Gin Kings will ultimately diminish doubts.
"Everyone's questioning the status of the team, that we are not winning against the big teams. I hope with this win, we proved that we're here to win games," said Tan. "We're here to be competitive. We are not just here to participate."
In front of a hostile crowd in Pasig, the team’s success was centered on the formidable trio of import Kadeem Jack and local aces Arvin Tolentino and Munzon, with the latter assuming the role of main protagonist for the Batang Pier in one of their greatest victories in franchise history against the crowd darlings.
Munzon scattered 27 points on the stat sheets, along with two rebounds, six assists, two steals, and one block, hailing him the Best Player of the Game.
“Going into the break, we knew that we will play a tough team in Ginebra, one of the better teams in the league. We’ve been preparing for them pretty much the whole break and all our hard work paid off tonight,” said Munzon.
“We were able to stick to the game plan and we made it happen,” he added.
Munzon’s efforts proved to be sufficient for the team as Tolentino, who finished with 29 markers and five boards prior to his exit, was fouled out in the closing seconds of the game.
Jack top scored for the Batang Pier, finishing with a game-high 39 points on top of 16 rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
Munzon and the Batang Pier have a chance to convert more skeptics into believers when they face another league contender in Meralco on Tuesday, January 14, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
NorthPort 119 – Jack 32, Tolentino 29, Munzon 27, Flores 9, Navarro 8, Bulanadi 5, Onwubere 4, Cuntapay 3, Yu 2, Nelle 0, Jalalon 0.
Ginebra 116 – Brownlee 23, Thompson 17, Rosario 17, Abarrientos 17, Ahanmisi 12, Holt 11, Cu 9, J.Aguilar 8, Tenorio 2.
Quarter Scores: 31-27, 67-58, 98-87, 119-116.
Similar news
The West No. 1 seed team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, opened their NBA Playoffs campaign with a bang, whipping the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies, 131–80, on Easter Sunday, April 20 (Philippine time).
Aaron Wiggins led all scorers with 21 points off the bench. He also grabbed four rebounds and issued two assists.
Besides Wiggins, all of the OKC starters also put up double-digit scoring, led by Jalen Williams, who tallied 20 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, and a block. He was followed by Chet Holmgren, who had a double-double of 19 markers and 10 boards, along with one deflection and two rejections.
Thunder star and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 15 points, three rebounds, five assists, and two blocks, while Isaiah Hartenstein put up 14 markers, eight boards, five dimes, and one steal. Luguentz Dort finished with a 12-3-2-3-1 line to complete the double-digit scoring cast.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies—who had just survived the Play-In Tournament, losing to the Golden State Warriors in their first outing and then defeating the Dallas Mavericks to enter the Playoffs—were led by star Ja Morant and off-the-bench player Marvin Bagley III, who had 17 apiece.
In the other matchups, the Eastern No. 2 seed team Boston Celtics also dominated the No. 7 seed Orlando Magic, 103–68, while the East No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers overpowered the No. 8 seed Miami Heat, 121–100.
The West No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors, on the other hand, earned a win away from home after defeating the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets, 95–85.
The Golden State Warriors secured the 7th seed in the Western Conference Playoffs after a hard-fought 121-116 win against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 16 (Philippine time).
Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry combined for 75 points to lead the Warriors to victory.
Butler had a game-high 38 points along with seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Curry followed with 37 markers, knocking down 6-of-13 from beyond the arc—including two crucial treys in the closing minutes, one near the corner and another after a triple pump fake that thrilled the home crowd. He added eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Gary Payton II and Quentin Post added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Draymond Green dished out a game-high 10 assists while also contributing four points, six rebounds, three steals, and a block before fouling out with 58.6 seconds left in the game.
The Orlando Magic opened the 2024–25 NBA Play-In Tournament with a bang, dismantling the Atlanta Hawks, 120–95, on Wednesday morning, April 16, (Philippine time) at the Kia Center in Orlando.
From the get-go, the Magic set the tone, dominating the first quarter, 32–17. They dropped the second by just a point but still carried a 61–47 lead into halftime.
The Hawks responded in the third canto with a 26–18 run to trim the deficit to just six, 79–73.
Come the fourth and final period, the Magic turned up the heat again, outscoring Atlanta 41–22 to secure the 25-point victory.
Cole Anthony led the charge off the bench with 26 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. He also added three rebounds and five assists.
Wendell Carter Jr. anchored the starting unit with 19 markers, seven boards, and two dimes, while Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner filled up the stat sheets despite their struggles from long range, going a combined 0-of-8 from downtown.
Banchero posted a near triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block. Wagner followed with a gritty double-double of 13 markers and 13 boards, along with three dimes, two swipes, and one rejection.