NorthPort Batang Pier’s Cade Flores during a PBA Philippine CUp game against NLEX Road Warriors. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines — Lowly NorthPort stunned NLEX on Wednesday night, 113-108, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila, picking up its second win in a PBA Philippine Cup campaign beset by key player departures.
Cade Flores led the way with a career-best 26 points and 15 rebounds, sparking a third-quarter surge that gave the Batang Pier something to smile about in a conference that has been the opposite of their strong Commissioner’s Cup run.
“It could be anybody’s night. I guess today’s just my day,” said Flores, who drew key support from Fran Yu, Calvin Abueva, and Joshua Munzon.
The Batang Pier, who are still reeling from the mid-tournament exits of Arvin Tolentino and William Navarro, improved to 2-8.
NLEX got 21 points from Robbie Herndon and 16 apiece from Brandon Ramirez and Robert Bolick Jr. but fell to 7-3 after squandering a double-digit lead and a chance to lock up the No. 1 seed—which could mean avoiding a sister team playoff matchup with Meralco.
NorthPort wraps up its campaign against San Miguel and hopes to close its season on a strong note.
“We want to carry this into the next conference,” said assistant coach Rensy Bajar, who filled in for head coach Bonnie Tan in the post-game press conference.
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