8win gaming NorthPort eyes sixth straight win; Converge aching for bounce-back

8win gaming

After squaring off recently, NorthPort and Converge take on different foes on Tuesday. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ

NorthPort shoots for a clean sweep of the first half of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup and a franchise milestone that still very few believe the club is capable of in yet another rare Tuesday doubleheader at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

The Batang Pier, riding on a five-game winning streak to open the midseason tournament, tackle Phoenix at 7:30 p.m. with a chance to turn in the finest start in club history.

Preliminary data from the BSP showed that net income rose to P95.2 billion as of end-July, up by 414 percent from the P18.5 billion in the same period last year.

hot slots

It was a reference to the notorious “behest loans” granted to individuals or corporations favored by powerful government officials.

Article continues after this advertisement

Coach Bonnie Tan’s challenge to his team in its most recent win last Thursday against Converge was to not allow a highly-touted debuting rookie to throw a wrench into his squads’ efforts thus far—and that should remain unchanged against a Fuel Masters crew that has not won anything four games into their tournament calendar.

FEATURED STORIES SPORTS KQ, JD, brightest stars of UAAP title protagonists, walk away from schools on different paths SPORTS 'No ordinary athlete' Tachiana Mangin has PSC backing SPORTS UAAP: JD Cagulangan leaves UP full of feats, gratitude

“I told them not to give one man—a rookie—the pleasure of snapping what we’ve been doing well so far. The players seem to have understood the value and thought it would be a shame for our run to end,” the soft-spoken mentor said shortly after the triumph over a full-strength Converge—easily one of the team’s gutsiest wins after taking the scalps of perennial powerhouses TNT and Magnolia earlier this month.

Playoff berth chance

Confidence will be the least of NorthPort’s concerns, especially with import Kadeem Jack playing splendidly in a conference littered with top-shelf names like Tropang Giga’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Barangay Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee.

Article continues after this advertisement

The Batang Pier’s locals haven’t been too shabby either. Defensive specialist Joshua Munzon has been reminding everyone that he is also capable of hitting the big-time shots. Cornerstone Arvin Tolentino is making double-double performances look like clockwork, while rookie Evan Nelle has been solid as a playmaker.

Article continues after this advertisement

And as far as incentives go, there’s also a chance that six games would be enough for NorthPort to lock up on a playoff berth.

Article continues after this advertisement

Tan has been latching on to the ever-reliable mantra of dealing with one game at a time, something that FiberXers interim coach Franco Atienza is taking into the 5 p.m. curtain-raiser against NLEX.

The telco club hopes to get back on track after that stinging 108-101 loss at the hands of the Batang Pier as it is hell-bent on improving on their quarterfinal run in the previous conference with top pick Justine Baltazar now in tow.

Article continues after this advertisement

“If we want to make the playoffs, we have to take care of business in our remaining games here in the eliminations,” said Atienza whose Converge squad is 2-2 in the race. “[And] we’re going to do that [in] stages. So we’ll have to take care of tomorrow first.”

NLEX, however, is shaping up as a vengeful lot come game time after its 109-100 loss to Barangay Ginebra that denied the 3-2 Road Warriors what could’ve been their fourth-straight win in the tournament. INQ

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

SIGN ME UP

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.8win gaming

READ NEXT KQ, JD, brightest stars of UAAP title protagonists, walk away ... Hope floats for PH Asean Cup bid despite ‘step backward’ EDITORS' PICK DepEd computer program utilization rate at 90 percent – Angara EDITORIAL: End the export of Filipinos Mary Jane Veloso may come home this week – DFA PhilHealth funds enough, can last for 2 years – lawmakers Cebu court sets trial for 24 Red-tagged NGO workers Kanlaon Volcano emits ash anew MOST READ Comelec probes possible sharing of voters in some areas KQ, JD, brightest stars of UAAP title protagonists, walk away from schools on different paths Converge’s Uy embraces the Maroons Solons fear VP Duterte's vow to face impeach raps is just lip service Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments