PBA On Tour: Arvin Tolentino’s late heroics lift NorthPort past Terrafirma

July 9, 2023 Times Europe

NorthPort forward Arvin Tolentino. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines-Arvin Tolentino scored the final seven points as NorthPort escaped past Terrafirma, 104-100, in the opening doubleheader of Sunday’s PBA On Tour at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Tolentino’s go-ahead triple started the streak that allowed the Batang Pier to win for the fourth time in eight games in the exhibition series.

The vital cog of Gilas Pilipinas’ hard-fought run to the gold medal of the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games finished with 28 points and nine rebounds.

“We made some changes by putting Arvin in the starting lineup because in the previous games he couldn’t sustain his good start,” said coach Bonnie Tan.

Paul Zamar also waxed hot and produced 21 points while JM Calma had 18 points and nine rebounds for NorthPort.

NorthPort overcame a big shooting display by the returning Juami Tiongson and a strong showing from Isaac Go, who were among those responsible for erasing a 17-point second quarter deficit.

Tiongson pumped in 25 points while Go had 11 points and five rebounds but the Dyip lost for the third straight time to go 3-6 with two to play in their On Tour campaign.

Go’s three-point play off a Tolentino foul with 1:53 to go gave Terrafirma a 99-97 lead, but the NorthPort cager responded with his three-point shot that put his team back in front.

An offensive foul on Go for a moving screen opened the door for Tolentino to score another basket to make it 102-99 in favor of the Batang Pier. Go split his charities after Calma’s loose ball foul before Tolentino knocked down two charities with 16.8 left to seal the final count.