PBA: William Navarro waxes hot as NorthPort gets first win at Terrafirma’s expense

NorthPort seized control early on the way to a 112-93 win over Terrafirma to bounce back in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Aug. 23.

At the forefront of the Batang Pier’s attack was William Navarro, who torched the Dyip with 31 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the three-point line.

He also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals as NorthPort finally barged into the win column following an opening loss to defending champ TNT.

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The Batang Pier raced off to a 23-11 start, before going on an 13-0 run bridging the third and fourth periods capped by Navarro’s four straight points for a 92-70 advantage with still 9:25 remaining in the fourth period.

Navarro would score another basket with 5:10 left to play for good measure, 106-79.

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NorthPort pretty much had the win in the bag after that.

In his return to Batang Pier, import Venky Jois submitted a double-double outing with 16 points and 15 rebounds he spiked with six assists, a steal and a block.

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Joshua Munzon had 14 points, while Arvin Tolentino added 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

“Based on our last practice, talagang we need to play as a team, we need to distribute the ball. Hindi panay one-on-one o two-man game,” said NorthPort coach Bonnie Tan.

“Our players played well lang. At least, 'yung mga second group namin, we challenged them to deliver also at maging consistent headed by Willliam Navarro. Nakita natin na if we follow the game plan, we can pull through this game.”

Juami Tiongson found his groove late on the way to 19 points, five assists and three rebounds for the Dyip but turned the ball over seven times.

Stanley Pringle chipped in 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Antonio Hester had 13-11-5, but their efforts did not seem enough to get Terrafirma over the hump after two games.  

Christian Standhardinger added 10 points and eight rebounds in a losing cause.

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.