Munzon, Batang Pier stay hot

MANILA, Philippines —   Joshua Munzon picked up from where he left off last week and served as NorthPort’s main propeller to its new franchise-best 5-0 start in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

On the heels of his PBA Press Corps Player of the Week citation, Munzon cranked it up even more and rifled in a career-high 30 points in keying the Batang Pier’s 108-101 win over Converge last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Just like in their twin victories over Magnolia and TNT the previous week, Munzon highlighted his brilliance with clutch shooting from long distance.

After Converge wiped out a nine-point deficit and caught up at 97-all, the Fil-Am ace knocked down back-to-back triples then set up Kadeem Jack for his own big trey that lifted the Batang Pier a 106-99 cushion with 1:22 left.

“It was back and forth the whole fourth quarter. We were up by nine but then they tied the game. At that point, we just needed to score a couple of baskets,” said Munzon, who also had three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“I just had confidence in myself in taking those shots and told my teammates let me take them. I’m happy they went in and we got the win,” he added.

Jack drilled in 32 with 15 boards to headline the scoring parade for NorthPort, which also drew solid outings from Arvin Tolentino (21-13) and rookie Evan Nelle (13-9-5).

The Batang Pier stayed spotless and equaled the franchise’s longest win streak at five straight games while spoiling the awaited debut of top rookie pick Justine Baltazar as well as the 30-point explosion of Jordan Heading for Converge (2-2).

Later, Blackwater outplayed import-less Meralco, 114-98, to break into the win column after four starts while staining the record of the Bolts (3-1).