Batang Pier play waiting game for final playoff ranking
ANTIPOLO—After defying the odds with an impressive form in the eliminations, it’s all about proving themselves and belying skeptics once more for NorthPort ahead of its next mission in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“We definitely want to prove that we deserve to be here and that it wasn’t just luck,” Joshua Munzon said after the Batang Pier clobbered the import-less Blackwater Bossing, 120-93, on Saturday at Ynares Center here.
The blowout victory enabled NorthPort to close out the eliminations at 9-3, albeit with plenty of uncertainties not only regarding its first round opponent but also its final ranking for the quarterfinals.
NorthPort will wait until the end of the eliminations on Friday for those questions to be answered. A top two finish gives the Batang Pier a twice-to-beat advantage, but they could fall to a low as fourth, which would put them in a best-of-three series.
The Batang Pier are going to clinch the bonus if the Meralco Bolts drop one of their two remaining matches or if two teams among the Bolts, guest team Hong Kong Eastern and TNT Tropang Giga, all with 7-3 slates, lose once in their final two outings.
There’s also the prospect of facing the traditional contenders right away, with the likes of San Miguel Beer and Magnolia fighting for survival and Barangay Ginebra still in a fluid situation while sitting at the middle of the pack.
The matchups
San Miguel is set to play TNT at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday also here, needing to rise to 6-6 to boost its precarious chances at a quarters seat while Magnolia, with a 4-6 mark, fights for survival against Eastern in the 5 p.m. opener.
Ginebra, meanwhile, totes a 7-4 record with a game left against Meralco on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Rain or Shine has a 6-4 record at press time opposite NLEX, which was aiming to keep its slim hopes alive and improve its 4-6 card.
“We’ve been proving all [conference] that we deserve to be here and that we’ve been playing hard,” said Munzon. “So hopefully, we take every one of those challenges that we had late in the [eliminations] and challenge ourselves to be better.
“We have a tough, tough challenge in the playoffs, no matter who we face, so we just have to bring it,” Munzon said. “That’s the mentality that we gotta play with.”
Munzon finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting on top of five assists to continue his impressive Commissioner’s Cup campaign that has made him into a tag team partner of star Arvin Tolentino.
Tolentino finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his latest triple-double of the conference, while import Kadeem Jack powered his way to 30 points for the Batang Pier.
Blackwater ended the conference with a 3-9 record, playing without import George King for the second straight game.
