Pasay City – GlobalPort Batang Pier kept its playoff hopes alive as they stunned the top-seeded Meralco Bolts, 94-86 in the 2017 PBA Commissioners’ Cup elimination round inside the Mall Of Asia Arena.
Batang Pier was led by their replacement import Justin Harper, who was shy of a double-double and scored 30 points and nine rebounds in his first PBA game.
Harper, who just arrived late Tuesday, was also accompanied by the team’s new acquisition – Sean Anthony, Jonathan Grey, and Bradwyn Guinto. Anthony came off the bench and tallied 18 points and eight rebounds in just twenty-seven minutes.
It was a see-saw battle until the Batang Pier capped on a run and outscored the Bolts 14-5 in the last five minutes of the final period to seal the victory. GlobalPort moved to ninth place with a 3-6 record to keep their playoff contention alive.
Meanwhile, the Bolts suffered their second loss and dropped to the third place with a 7-2 record. Alex Stephenson scored 18 points and grabbed twenty-seven huge rebounds for Meralco. He got help from Justin Chua who scored 16 points – 14 in the first half but did not have a response to Batang Pier’s attack in the second half.
Story by: Joshua De Guzman / Photo courtesy: Peter Baltazar
