ARVIN Tolentino would not let NorthPort fade silently out of the PBA Philippine Cup playoff picture.
Tolentino scored the game's last eight points to lift the Batang Pier over Blackwater, 115-113, Saturday at the Caloocan Sports Complex and into the thick of the fight for a quarterfinals berth.
Tolentino capped his heroics with the go-ahead basket, a side-stepping jumper against Christian David, in the last 7.8 seconds before snaring the defensive rebound off Rey Nambatac's three-point miss preceding the final buzzer.
As a result, NorthPort finally snapped out of a five-game spiral while winding up the eliminations with a 5-6 slate, making it the eighth team to notch at least five wins.
The Batang Pier now await the outcome of the other games featuring teams that could either tie or pass them for inclusion among the top eight advancing to the next round.
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The ripple effects of the win reached Barangay Ginebra as the 6-3 Kings gained automatic entry into the last eight notwithstanding the result of their game against 1-8 Converge later Saturday in Cagayan de Oro.
Also affected was 3-7 Phoenix Super LPG as it was automatically taken out of the playoffs hunt since the most the Fuel Masters could hope for is four wins.
After losing its sixth straight game, Blackwater dropped to 3-6 but could still tie for at least a playoff spot should it prevail over San Miguel Beer on Wednesday and Phoenix next Saturday.
For the moment, NorthPort has a chance and it is the most coach Bonnie Tan and his charges could hope for following a game that saw them squander as much as a 19-point third quarter lead before falling behind by 97-113, still 1:42 left.
Good thing Tolentino rose to the occasion and ultimately finished 27 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.
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Main support came from Joshua Munzon (16 points, five rebounds, six assists), rookie Damie Cuntapay (15 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting) and Zav Lucero (14 points, seven rebounds and four dimes).
For naught went the personal season-high 33 points by Troy Rosario, notwithstanding a cut on his right eyebrow accidentally inflicted by teammate Tyrus Hill early in the opening frame.
David notched career-highs in both points (26) and rebounds (15) for his second career double-double and Justin Chua also played his best game yet in a Blackwater uniform with 11 points and seven boards. (NC)
