NorthPort ends drought

MANILA, Philippines — NorthPort’s support crew led by Renzo Subido and Kelly Nabong stepped up to the plate as the Sean Anthony-less Batang Pier scored a 107-96 breakthrough win over Terrafirma in the PBA Philippine Cup yesterday.

With Anthony sidelined by hamstring problems, Subido and Nabong took care of endgame duties and presided over a furious finish that cleared the way for NorthPort’s first win after a 0-4 start in the bubble.

Subido, a rookie, masterfully set the table for Batang Pier and did more, rifling in all of his 12 points in the last four minutes to spell the difference in the tight contest at the Smart 5G-powered AUF Sports Arena.

Nabong, a known bruising defender, put on an offensive hat as well and fired 10 of his 18 in the final canto to backstop Christian Standhardinger’s team-high 23, a par for the course for the Fil-German ace.

“We can’t go down 0-5 in the bubble. That’s really a no-go for us. So we had to come out and show aggressiveness and we did that and we came up on top,” said Nabong, who emerged as NorthPort’s top three-point gunman with a four-of-six clip.

Garvo Lanete (14) and Paolo Taha (12) also turned in double-digit production for coach Pido Jarencio.

“This was a breakout game for us,” said Jarencio. “The guys were determined to win and everybody stepped up led by Kelly and Renzo, which served us well.”

CJ Perez showed the way for Terrafirma with 25 points.