GlobalPort’s Stanley Pringle goes for a layup against the defense of Blackwater’s Poy Erram and Renz Palma.
INQUIRER
Games Today
(Cuneta Astrodome)
4:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs KIA Picanto
6:45 p.m. – Magnolia vs Phoenix Petroleum
Settling into a groove even without its biggest star, GlobalPort on Friday night dealt Blackwater a beating it would soon want to forget as the Batang Pier joined a bevy of teams crammed in the middle of the PBA Philippine Cup pack.
Sean Anthony jumpstarted the Batang Pier’s offensive machine with four first quarter triples and the rest of the team picked up from there as GlobalPort blew the Elite off the floor on the way to a 101-76 win at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.
It was the second straight victory for the Batang Pier, managing to claim the scalp of another formidable enemy even with Terrence Romeo continuing to be absent. GlobalPort rose to 2-2.
“The effort of everyone was there, as you all saw,” he went on as Stanley Pringle finished with 17 points and Kelly Nabong chipped in with 16, seven rebounds and five assists.
And while the Batang Pier were efficient offensively, their defense also worked, especially in the middle two quarters where they starved the Elite to 31 combined points.
Aside from sending the Elite to their second straight loss in a 2-3 card, the victory was the second biggest in franchise history after a 108-78 ripping of NLEX in the 2015 Governors’ Cup where Jarencio also called the shots.
There is still no timetable to Romeo’s return, with Jarencio saying that it “all depends on the doctors, who will give him clearance.”
Mac Belo led the Elite with 17 points, with Mike DiGregorio shooting 15.
Meanwhile, Magnolia tries to stay within earshot of the lead as it clashes with Phoenix Petroleum in the main game of a Petron Saturday Special schedule also at Cuneta Astrodome.
The Hotshots also have a two-game winning streak going and will be colliding with the Fuel Masters in the 6:45 p.m. contest even as Rain or Shine shoots to win back-to-back games for the first time when it tangles with winless KIA Picanto at 4:30 p.m.