MYLES Powell gave NorthPort a sort of dose of its own medicine, sinking a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift the Bay Area Dragons past the gritty Batang Pier, 105-104, Saturday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The former NBA campaigner dribbled his way into the left corner before launching his high-arching fly-by shot off two defenders for the game-winner that enabled the Dragons to pass their first tough test after opening up their campaign with a 46-point win over Blackwater last Wednesday.
"We just executed. We got a stop, we came down, they put the ball in my hands and it was game time," said an emotional Powell after the game that saw him net 37 points, just four shy of his output against the Bossing.
For his part, winning coach Brian Goorjian the needle his team had to go through just to squeak by should serve as a reminder that Bay Area's stint here would not be a breeze.
"You win by 45 points and everybody thinks you're something you're not and tonight, I think, shows everybody in this that this is going to be good basketball," said Goorjian. "I mean... the teams playing us are fired up and want this bad, the crowd's involved."
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The man who also serves as the Australian national team's head coach also tipped his hat to NorthPort, which failed to follow up its 92-89 win over Phoenix off Robert Bolick's three-pointer in the last 12 seconds.
"I thought they did a tremendous job of spreading the floor, playing NBA-style and going to a mismatch and grinding that out," said Goorjian.
Put to waste by Powell's heroics were Bolick's team-high 33 points and Arvin Tolentino's new career-high 22 points on top of 10 rebounds which paced the Batang Pier.
In foul trouble for the second straight game, Prince Ibeh was reduced to eight points although he did add 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Roi Sumang also had the chance to fully reprise his endgame heroics in the Phoenix game after canning a jumper off his steal that put NorthPort on top, 104-102. But he, like Arwind Santos before him, clanked a three-pointer that led to Bay Area's final thrust.
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Australian-Chinese Hayden Blankley proved to be Powell's main support with 15 points and 10 rebounds while 7-5 backup center Liu Chuanxing added 13 points, helping make up for veteran forward Zhu Songwei leaving the game for good in the third quarter after badly tweaking his right foot. (NC)
The Scores:
Bay Area 105 - Powell 37, Blankley 15, Liu 13, Liang 9, Yang 9, Chu 8, Reid 8, Ju 6, Song 0, Lam 0, Zheng 0.
NorthPort 104 - Bolick 33, Tolentino 22, Balanza 11, Chan 11, Ibeh 8, Santos 6, Sumag 5, Salado 3, Ferrer 3, Ayaay 2, Caperal 0.
Quarters: 18-24, 53-51, 80-77, 105-104
