THE leader that he is, Arvin Tolentino managed to persuade the entire NorthPort team to cut short its holiday break and remain sharp in its PBA Commissioner's Cup campaign.
The Batang Pier ended 2024 last Dec. 20 with a 120-113 win over guest team Eastern and were not poised to make a court comeback until Jan. 8 against Barangay Ginebra.
Initially, the team planned to have a 10-day break for both the Christmas and New Year celebration as a fitting reward for the effort to finish the year on top of the standings with a 6-1 record.
Tolentino though, had other things going in his mind.
"I told the guys 'yung 10-day break mabigat na yun. We're still in the middle of the season and we can't afford to do that," said the Batang Pier's main man, adding the team was supposed to take a breather a day after the Eastern game and return to practice again on January 2.
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"So I asked the coaches, I asked the guys na kaunting sacrifice, kasi this is our job. Plus we're on a roll. We're 6-1 and no. 1 in the league. And the last thing we can't afford to do is yung mag-relax."
The team instead, had a six-day off for Christmas, returned to practice for four days, took a break to celebrate the New Year, and then was back to the grind again the morning after.
Added Tolentino, "I'm happy for the guys. Nag-respond naman sila. And they're happy with the practice also. Wala namang nag-reklamo."
Obviously, the sacrifice allowed the Batang Pier not to lose a single step as shown with the way they played against Barangay Ginebra, coming away with a huge 119-116 win in their first game for 2025 Wednesday night at the Philsports Arena.
Tolentino himself had a huge game, pouring 29 big points including a 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range.
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Import Kadeem Jack came through with 32 points and 16 rebounds, Joshua Munzon added 27 and six assists, and the rest of the Batang Pier - from Cade Flores, William Navarro to the returning Jio Jalalon - did their own share in pulling off the thrilling win that didn't come easy as the Kings managed to claw their way back from as much as an 18-point deficit in the third quarter.
"Muntik na nga kaming ma-NSD (Never-Say-Die)," said Tolentino.
But thanks to that small sacrifice during the holiday break, everything bore fruit for the now 7-1 Batang Pier. (RG)
