Northport Batang Pier Arvin Tolentino will be in the PBA Commissioners Cup semi-finals against the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. –Marlo Cueto/Inquirer.net
MANILA, Philippines — Northport star Irvin Trentino’s off-night could not get worse on Friday as Batan’s pier resigned from the PBA commissioner’s Cup semi-final after falling to Guinebra in five games.
But that didn’t stop Coach Bonnie Tan from putting his hat on the franchise’s cornerstone due to his incredible run at the import rading meeting.
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Read: PBA: Irvin Trentino finds a way to keep Northport breathing and ginebra
“Irvin is Irvin. His talent was always there before he went to our franchise,” Tan said in an interview with Inquirer Sports after a 126-99 defeat to the Jin Kings of Araneta Coliseum.
“As coaches, our goal was to maximize talent for players, and we couldn’t do it on other teams.”
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Unfortunately, Trentino’s talent was closed when it was needed most as Northport finished at nine low points and sunk two of his 13 tries from the field.
Read: PBA: Arvin Tolentino is ready to lead the best player race
The former Ginebra Swingman managed to draw 13 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to stop his previous team from moving on to his second final appearance.
According to Tan, Friday’s accident should not take away what Trentino did for the meeting before the semis collided with the Gin Kings.
Trentino at one point earned the best player in the conference awards, averaging 23.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steel and 1.1 blocks, earning him the best player in the conference awards. He couldn’t get close to those numbers when he was with Ginebra.
Trentino, part of the contract that sent Jamie Maronso to the Gin Kings in 2022, carried Batan Pier to the conference’s top seed after the elimination round and ultimately the semi-finals.
“Irvin was right. No one expected us to be in the semi-finals, so it was an opportunity for this team to showcase what they could do,” Tan said.
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Trentino-led Batampia finished with an 11-7 record on Com. Cups including playoffs.
