NorthPort star Arvin Tolentino in action. PBA ImagesMANILA, Philippines -- NorthPort will be entering the holiday break on a delightful note.
The Batang Pier, despite stumbling in their last outing, have reentered the win column after blasting guest team Eastern, 120-113, on Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
READ: PBA: TNT nabs back-to-back wins at Blackwater's expense
They improved to a 6-1 record, currently the best in the league, also sending the guest team to a 5-2 slate.
"It's always fun 'pag siyempre, dayo 'yung kalaban mo," expressed Arvin Tolentino, who was named player of the match.
READ: PBA: Converge climbs back from 18 points down to beat Phoenix
"Meron laging factor, talagang —'yung gusto mong manalo. That's what happened today," he added.
READ: PBA: Rain or Shine averts meltdown, spoils Magnolia’s comeback for 3rd win
Tolentino led the Batang Pier's efforts, listing 35 points to lead the locals on an efficient shooting of 10-of-16 clip while collecting six boards.
As expected of him, reinforcement Kadeem Jack jacked up the stat sheet of 38 points and added nine rebounds.
Chris McLaughlin, meanwhile, still put on a show in the loss, collecting a massive double-double of 26 points and 19 rebounds for Eastern.
The Scores:
NORTHPORT 120 – Jack 38, Tolentino 35, Munzon 15, Navarro 10, Yu 9, Nelle 5, Flores 4, Onwubere 4, Bulanadi 0, Miranda 0, Cuntapay 0
EASTERN 113 – McLaughlin 26, Blankley 24, Lam 18, Yang 13, Guinchard 9, Chan 7, Xu 6, Cheung 4, Leung 3, Zhu 3, Pok 0
QUARTERS: 27-32, 63-60, 90-87, 120-113