By MARK REY MONTEJO
NorthPort is probably one of the hottest teams alongside San Miguel Beer and NLEX in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup and one of the factors for its successful run is its youthful roster.
The Batang Pier notched their fourth consecutive win – tying their longest streak in the all-Filipino tournament since 2016 – behind its stellar run-and-gun play which head coach Bonnie Tan is crediting to the team’s young legs
“Basically, we are a young team. We have to take advantage of that aspect,” Tan said after their win against TNT on Friday, April 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“More than three-fourths of our team, nasa rookies, sophomore, junior years nila. Gusto naming i-take advantage, malabas nila na mai-showcase nila lahat ng pwede nilang gawin,” he added.
Out of the 16 players in the NorthPort roster, 13 players are below 30 years old including Arvin Tolentino, who is having a huge conference, averaging a league second-best 24 points per contest.
Their quick tempo game seemed to be perfect for the group who doesn’t have the luxury of having bigs. They are now the second best fastbreak scoring team with 23.40 per contest following the another youth-laden team Rain or Shine (25.17).
Tolentino said that because of their youth they are hungry and eager to prove that they belong to the big league.
“Tyaka we’re young team, maraming bata sa team namin na hungry and trying to prove something sa liga. ‘Yon yung malaking contribution kung bakit kami nagcocompete ngayon,” Tolentino stressed.
“This team is trying to prove something and individual also,” he added.
