MICHAEL Qualls does not want his stint here to be a short one.
The uber-athletic import saw to that by powering NorthPort to a 102-94 shocker over previously streaking NLEX Wednesday and fanning the Batang Pier's PBA Governors' Cup playoffs hopes at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Qualls, who played his first game here last Oct. 23 as replacement for Mychal Ammons, also tallied 11 rebounds and five assists, while getting a lot of help from his local teammates led by Christian Standhardinger and Sean Anthony.
After improving to a 4-7 win-loss slate overall NorthPort now shares seventh with idle Columbian and can claim an outright slot in the eight-team quarterfinals should it wind up the eliminations with another win against Barangay Ginebra on Sunday.
"The players want to win this game kasi do-or-die game for us. Kundi out na, wala na tayo for the conference," said coach Pido Jarencio after NorthPort snapped out of a two-game skid.
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"Bad start lang kami. First quarter bad start pero pagdating ng second quarter, third (period) gumanda na takbo. Iyon na, naging consistent kami," added Jarencio.
"Ang problema namin kasi is consistency, offense and defense. Pero tonight we worked as a team. May konti pang problema sa chemistry pero kahit papaano we're here, competing. Lumalaban iyung team."
Another scenario for the Batang Pier is them being relegated to a tie for eighth and playing off for the last spot in the next round. But that is something Jarencio could live with.
"Alam naman natin pagdating ng playoffs, medyo pi-pick na laro natin d'yan," quipped Jarencio.
The loss, only its second in 10 games, hardly mattered for NLEX as it remained on top of the heap.
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But the Road Warriors' chances of clinching the No. 1 seeding and squaring off against the eighth-ranked team in the next round now hinges mostly on whether they would win their last elims assignment against Alaska next Wednesday.
Manny Harris did try to brighten NLEX's hopes by hitting seven of his first 10 shots in leading NLEX to an early 22-7 spread. But he went 5-for-19 from the field the rest of the way, failing to sustain any momentum due to the fouls given up on him by the NorthPort defenders.
Harris did finish with 34 points, but only Kiefer Ravena's 16 points and JR Quinahan's 10 markers were the most the former NBA campaigner could get from his local teammates.
Also spoiled was Kevin Alas' first game since being sidelined by a torn ACL last February. He came off the bench in the last 1:08 of the first quarter and played just six more minutes afterwards, missing both of his field goal tries.
In contrast, NorthPort also drew 23 points and a game-best 19 boards from Standhardinger and 19 points from Anthony, 10 of which came in the pivotal third quarter where NorthPort outscored NLEX 38-27 to raze a 43-51 deficit and take an 81-78 lead into the final canto.
Qualls then completely took over in the final 8:23 of the game where he scattered 11 of his points and put the Batang Pier safely ahead 100-87, only 1:25 to go.
Qualls' intentions were known right in the last few minutes of the opening quarter when he scored 11 of his points during NorthPort's surge from a 9-22 deficit and put it within 25-28.
With the other Batang Pier joining in NorthPort even briefly seized the lead before Harris, Ravena and Quinahan joined hands to give NLEX back the upper hand and an eight-point cushion at the turn. (NC)
The scores:
NorthPort 102 - Qualls 36, Standhardinger 23, Anthony 19, Ferrer 9, Elorde 7, Taha 4, Lanete 2, Mercado 2, King 0, Escoto 0.
NLEX 94 - Harris 34, Ravena 16, Quinahan 10, Erram 7, Cruz 7, Fonacier 6, Miranda 5, Paniamogan 4, Taulava 3, Soyud 2, Alas 0, Ighalo 0.
Quarterscores: 25-28, 43-51, 81-78, 102-94.
