FOUR wins in a row for NorthPort Batang Pier.

Arvin Tolentino and John Michael Calma provided the spark as NorthPort rolled to its fourth straight win — a convincing 112-96 victory over TNT in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tolentino finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Calma added a double double of 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Batang Pier, who led from start to finish in beating the Tropang Giga and improving to 4-1 overall.

Joshua Munzon was the third player with double-digit scores for the Batang Pier, who established their biggest lead of the game at 32 points before staving off a late rally by the Tropang Giga.
Munzon had 14 markers.

Cade Flores (nine points, eight rebounds, three assists), Allyn Bulanadi (seven points), Zavier Lucero (six points, nine rebounds) and William Navarro (six points, five rebounds) also stepped up for the Bonnie Tan-mentored Batang Pier.

Roger Pogoy carried the fight for the Tropang Giga with 34 points, including 7-of-12 from the three-point area, in 34 minutes.

Kim Aurin added 18 points and Calvin Oftana had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Tropang Giga, who dropped to 2-3 overall.

Meanwhile, the PBA returns to the historic Ninoy Aquno Stadium with a Saturday doubleheader pitting Blackwater against Rain or Shine at 3 p.m. and NLEX against Magnolia at 6:15 p.m.

Featuring a wooden flooring used in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, NAS is opening its door to the PBA for seven play dates, including special weekend bills on July 6 and 7.

Incidentally, Rain or Shine and Magnolia were two of the four PBA teams that last played in the venue 13 years ago.

The scores:

NorthPort (112) – Tolentino 29, Calma 22, Munzon 14, Flores 9, Bulanadi 7, Navarro 6, Lucero 6, Taha 5, Rosales 4, Amores 3, Paraiso 3, Adamos 2, Zamar 2, Yu 0, Cuntapay 0
TNT (96) – Pogoy 34, Aurin 18, Oftana 13, Galinato 7, Montalbo 6, Khobuntin 5, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Castro 4, Ponferrada 3, K.Williams 2, M.Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Reyes 0, Varilla 0, Heruela 0, Ebona 0
Quarterscores: 32-18, 61-34, 85-57, 112-96.

Games Saturday:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
3 p.m. — Blackwater vs. Rain or Shine
6:15 p.m. — NLEX vs. Magnolia