LESSONS learned from a very bitter loss and the return of its ace gunner are what NorthPort would be armed with when it takes on recent trading partner Blackwater Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Arvin Tolentino has been cleared to play and is expected to lead the Batang Pier in their bid to rebound from a painful 96-113 loss to Rain or Shine last April 16 and improve to a 2-1 record overall.
"He's been practicing with us na and hopefully hindi na bumalik injury niya," said NorthPort coach Bonnie Tan of Tolentino, who finished with 19 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in a 97-75 opening win against Terrafirma but sat out the Elasto Painters game due to a sore hip.
More important for Tan is the mindset his players would be adopting against the Bossing, who remain dangerous notwithstanding their 0-2 slate.
"Based on our last game, without an import and our main player, na-e-expose talaga ang weakness namin," offered Tan. "So the other guys must try to step up."
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That was exactly what the Batang Pier failed to do against the E-Painters, who were supposed to be easy picking without a legitimate center with Keith Datu sidelined by a calf injury and Beau Belga still to recover from vertigo.
Instead, NorthPort got beaten off the boards, 54-66, gave up 14 more points in the paint and were on the short end of a 27-6 count in second chance points.
It is therefore quite understandable why Tan was both disappointed and frustrated with the performance of his players, especially his big men.
"Sabi ko nga, before limited minutes kayo sa mga conferences na may import. But now kailangang mas mag-rise kayo sa challenge. You now have the opportunity to play at kahit ilang minutes lang iyan ipakita nating kaya nating maglaro dito sa PBA, magawa man lang roles assigned to them," related Tan.
"Pero tapos na iyon and now we have to bounce back. Sana hindi na maulit and makabawi naman," added Tan. "Sana makapag-compete man lang. We just have to focus on playing to win, not merely to play."
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Defense would once again be NorthPort's focus since Sedrick Barefield and Christian David would be sure to bounce back from pitiful efforts in an 80-111 loss to Converge last April 13.
After notching 31 points in an 84-106 loss to Magnolia in their first game David was shut out despite seven attempts from the field against Converge while Barefield also failed to reprise his 24-point production in the conference debut by netting just five points on a 1-of-10 clip against the FiberXers.
What should be an interesting sidebar is how former NorthPort reserve center Abu Tratter and ex-Blackwater guard James Kwekuteye perform in their first game with their new teams after a one-on-one trade approved by the PBA just last Wednesday. (NC)
