FILE–Arvin Tolentino and Will Navarro of NorthPort Batang Pier during a PBA Commissioner’s Cup match. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.internet
MANILA, Philippines—Even as one of the league’s best teams in the current PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Northport was the underdog once on Tuesday against perennial contender San Miguel Beer.
Batang Pier once again proved all the naysayers wrong and Arvin Tolentino attributed it to the endless trust the team had in each other.
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READ: PBA: NorthPort surpasses San Miguel, gets closer to winning
“I guess everyone believes in each other from the beginning of the conference. That’s been our foundation,” Tolentino said after their 105-114 victory over the Beermen.
“We can do it if we stick together and see how we play our game every time we share the ball… Every time we play together as a team, enjoy the game and believe we can win, that’s when our morale goes up.”
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Tolentino and company defeated the Beermen to rebound from a two-game losing streak and improve to an 8-3 record, tying Converge for second place behind TNT, which is 6-2.
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READ: PBA: On top of the world for now, NorthPort has its work cut out for it
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Tolentino did everything and more for Batang Pier after filling the stat sheet with 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the dub.
The confidence mentioned by the former Ginebra forward was evident in his performance, as almost all of Batang’s docks contributed to defeating the Beermen.
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Import Kadeem Jack reinforced Northport’s victory with 38 points and seven rebounds, while local scorers William Navarro and Joshua Munzon scored 17 and 12, respectively.
Even with those contributions, it wasn’t an easy outing against the Beermen and Tolentino expected no less.
“You know that San Miguel is a champion team with eight-time MVP (June Mar Fajardo). There, CJ Pérez and they have many veterans, so it was not easy even though we were great,” he said. “They are really contenders.”
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Batang Pier looks to finish the conference knockout round on top when they play their final game on Friday against, coincidentally, the FiberXers at the same venue.
