In the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday, Northport defeated Terrafirma, 133-107, regaining its winning ways after the return of Venky Jois and William Navarro.

The Batang Pier ended a two-game losing streak with a commanding 33-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter and never looked back, improving to 3-3 (win-loss).

Leading the charge were Jois and Navarro, who were sidelined by ankle sprains during NorthPort’s previous match against Magnolia. Navarro finished with 18 points and six rebounds, while Jois finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds.

Against Terrafirma, who had not won in six games, Arvin Tolentino led the way for the revitalized Batang Pier with a triple double of 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Jois scored ten points in the second quarter, helping the Batang Pier to a commanding halftime lead of 62–41. NorthPort even went up on a 7-0 run to begin the third quarter, leading by as much as 28 points, 69-41.

While rookie Didat Hanapi ended with 20 points and shot 7 of 14 from the field for the unfortunate Dyip, Christian Standhardinger finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

The Scores

NorthPort 133 – Jois 26, Tolentino 23, Navarro 18, Flores 15, Jalalon 12, Amores 8, Onwubere 7, Munzon 6, Taha 6, Yu 5, Nelle 3, Tratter 2, Bulanadi 2, Cuntapay 0.

Terrafirma 107 – Standhardinger 22, Hanapi 20, Ferrer 14, Sangalang 14, Hester 12, Pringle 10, Hernandez 5, Ramos 5, Cahilig 5, Olivario 0.

Quarter scores: 33-11; 62-41; 96-75; 133-107.

Meanwhile, TNT saved face in the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday, defeating Converge 98-91, to avoid yet another heartbreaking loss.

With 1:09 remaining in the fourth quarter, Jayson Castro made a three-pointer to give TNT a 96-91 advantage, squashing another late Converge rally and enabling TNT to exact revenge for its first-round loss to the FiberXers.

TNT won five of its six games, good for a share of the lead in Group A with sister team Meralco, with a lead of up to 21 points.

In contrast to the opening round, when Scotty Hopson’s four-pointer sent them trailing by sixteen points, the Tropang Giga managed to hold onto their sizable advantage all the way to the finish.

Castro finished with 14 points, none greater than his three that with 1:29 left in the game cut TNT’s lead to 93-91 after Schonny Winston made a layup with his left hand. With just 28.3 seconds remaining, Calvin Oftana’s follow-up for TNT increased their lead.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and ten assists, and Rey Nambatac scored 17 points in a row to make up for his six-point performance in their first-round matchup.

Oftana scored 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds in his first game back from a hip bruise against Terrafirma.

Converge had to play catch-up the remainder of the way after falling down 60–39. The FiberXers, who had previously prevailed in the previously mentioned first-round matchup with the Tropang Giga, have now dropped three straight games to drop to 2-4.

Despite his comeback with 16 points, Justin Arana re-aggravated his ankle sprain early in the fourth quarter. For the FiberXers, Winston finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Hopson led Converge with 13 points despite shooting just 6 of 17 from the field.

The Scores

TNT 98 – Hollis-Jefferson 21, Nambatac 17, Castro 14, Oftana 14, Pogoy 12, Aurin 5, Payawal 5, Erram 5, Khobuntin 3, Heruela 2.

Converge 91 – Arana 16, Stockton 15, Winston 15, Hopson 13, Ambohot 12, Delos Santos 8, Santos 7, Cabagnot 4, Racal 1, Vigan-Fleming 0, Nieto 0, Andrade 0.

Quarter scores: 36-18; 58-39; 78-67; 98-91.