INSPIRED by its new head coach Franz Pumaren, GlobalPort showed glimpse of its improvement, trouncing new look Mahindra, 97-75, with ease to gain its first win in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
Picking up where he left off last season, Batang Pier superstar Terrence Romeo resumed his role as the league’s top-scorer, putting up a game-high of 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting with four triples, to go with six assists to pace his squad.
His backcourt partner in Stanley Pringle likewise had a solid game, notching 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while newcomers Nino Canaleta and JR Quinahan immediately made their presence felt as well.
Canaleta missed a triple-double by a point with his nine points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, while Quinahan had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Batang Pier.
Just four minutes into the game, the Batang Pier took command right away and never looked back the rest of the way.
GlobalPort started the game with a blistering 13-0 salvo at the 8:28 mark of the opening period, paving the way to a comfortable route towards victory.
With the win, GlobalPort joined San Miguel, Rain or Shine and Blackwater as the early tournament winners with 1-0 slates each.
Towards the end of the first frame, the game was already out of hand with the Batang Pier mercifully killing the Floodbusters, leading by 19 big points, 24-5, in the waning minutes of the quarter.
By halftime, the lead of GlobalPort stood at 18 points, 46-28, with Romeo already having 14 points at the turn.
GlobalPort held several 27-point leads in the game.
In a sudden but not a very surprising twist, GlobalPort is now being officially coached by its then consultant Pumaren.
Pumaren has been calling the shots behind the Batang Pier’s bench as team consultant for quite some time.
After Adamson University bowed out of the Final Four in the UAAP last Wednesday, the veteran coach was suddenly made the official mentor of the Batang Pier, taking the place of transitional coach John Cardel, who now slides back as one of the assistant coaches of the team.
With its key players from last season all gone except for LA Revilla, Mahindra wasn’t the same team.
The dip in its capabilities were exposed and it was never in the game at any point.
Alex Mallari led Mahindra with a team-high 17 points off the bench.
The scores:
GLOBALPORT 97— Romeo 29, Pringle 16, Quinahan 10, Canaleta 9, Pessumal 8, Aban 5, Pennisi 5, Semerad 5, Maierhofer 4, Mamaril 4, Saitanan 2, Cortez 0, Dehesa 0, Paredes 0.
MAHINDRA 75—Mallari 17, Deutchman 14, Apinan 10, Celda 10, Escoto 6, Revilla 5, Yee 5, Digregorio 4, Arana 2, Eriobu 2, Salva 0, Paniamogan 0, Nimes 0, Galanza 0, Ballesteros 0.
Quarterscores: 24-19, 46-28, 70-45, 97-75