THE surprise tour continued for Mahindra.
The Enforcers turned in another impressive showing, this time outmuscling GlobalPort in the clutch to hack out a 108-98 triumph and continue rolling in the early part of the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
James White continued to be a force for Mahindra, leading the Enforcers with another monster output of 28 points and 20 rebounds, both team-highs, along with four shot blocks.
A burly barrage down the stretch proved to be the key for the Enforcers as they turned a one-point deficit in the middle of the payoff period to a decisive rout in the closing minutes.
Mahindra unleashed tons of firepower to take the game emphatically through a booming 22-7 blast in the last six minutes of the contest to leave GlobalPort in the dust.
As Mahindra continued to impress, it now holds a 2-0 start—tied with Meralco for the early tournament lead. This is the Enforcers’ best start in their young franchise history.
“I want to deflect all the effort to my guys. We withstood a very strong GlobalPort team,” said Mahindra deputy coach Chris Gavina. “We need to stay humble and hungry despite this good start and also keep our consistency.”
The second straight setback sent the Batang Pier to 0-2 and to the bottom of the heap in a tie with Phoenix.
Mahindra also got a nice lift from Aldrech Ramos, who scored 16 points, while LA Revilla and Paolo Taha added 11 and 10, respectively.
Dominic Sutton’s three-point play gave GlobalPort a slim 85-84 lead with over seven minutes left, but Mahindra had the last laugh down the stretch with the mentioned pivotal spurt that turned the tides in its favor.
Playing confidently, the Enforcers produced a key 8-1 spurt to start the second half and grasp a 53-44 lead with under nine minutes in the third canto.
However, the Batang Pier bounced back in the latter part of the third to trim Mahindra’s lead to a single point, 70-69, heading to the fourth, leaving the final 12 minutes to decide the victor.
GlobalPort played sans ace spitfire Terrence Romeo, who was forced to sit out due to intestinal flu.
Sutton led GlobalPort with his game-high 34 points.
Mahindra ended up with a slim 45-43 edge at halftime following a tight opening half.
The scores:
MAHINDRA 108 – White 28, Ramos 16, Revilla 11, Taha 10, Agovida 8, Pinto 8, Canaleta 7, Zandi 7, Guinto 5, Aguilar 2, Bagatsing 2, Ballesteros 2, Yee 2, Digregorio 0, Elorde 0, Jaime 0.
GLOBALPORT 98 – Sutton 34, Pringle 19, Dehesa 13, Fortuna 9, Semerad 9, Banal 6, Isip 3, Kramer 2, Mamaril 2, Taha 1, Pascual 0.
Quarters: 20-20, 45-43, 70-69, 108-98
Games Friday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:15 p.m. – San Miguel vs. NLEX
7 p.m. – Star vs. Blackwater
