MANILA, Philippines – Rookie Xyrus Torres caught fire, almost to the point of perfection.
Torres drilled 28 points on a hyper-efficient 11-of-12 shooting from the field to propel the NLEX Road Warriors to their first win in the PBA Philippine Cup over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 109-95, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Saturday, April 12.
The 24-year-old Torres, the 30th pick from the 2024 PBA Draft, shot 5-of-6 from the three-point range, and 6-of-6 from inside the arc — just one made field goal short of tying the league record for most attempts without a miss held by Ali Peek, who went 12-of-12 from the field in 2006.
“I had no idea. Maybe, I just played with no pressure, and grabbed the opportunity they have given me,” Torres said in Filipino.
“He came out today knowing that this is what needed to be done. He was challenged by his role tonight,” NLEX head coach Jong Uichico said of Torres, a former FEU sniper in the UAAP.
The win was the first for NLEX this conference after losing to the San Miguel Beermen to start their all-Filipino campaign.
With Rain or Shine closing the gap late, Torres drained a fadeaway jumper before completing a tough three-point play to pull NLEX away from disaster and prevent his performance from going down the drain.
Robert Bolick also got 23 points and 12 assists to dictate the tempo for the Road Warriors, while Anthony Semerad chipped in 18 points.
Caelan Tiongson, meanwhile, recorded 24 points to lead the Elasto Painters, whose squad is fresh from a semifinal stint last conference where they lost to eventual Commissioner’s Cup champion TNT.
Santi Santillan and Jhonard Clarito also had 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Adrian Nocum was held to just 11 markers as Rain or Shine fell in their Philippine Cup debut.
In the other game, the NorthPort Batang Pier leaned on five double-digit performances bannered by Arvin Tolentino’s near triple-double showcase to rout the Terrafirma Dyip, 97-75, in their conference-opener.
Tolentino finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assists to carry the cudgels for the Batang Pier, whose squad is coming off a semifinal exit last conference even after finishing the eliminations as the top seed.
Built on the back of Tolentino’s playmaking, the Batang PIer recorded 27 assists throughout the game.
“That is one thing we are working on, sharing the ball,” said Tolentino, who won the Commissioners’ Cup’s Best Player of the Conference award.
Will Navarro also had a double-double of 18 points, and 10 rebounds, while Joshua Munzon added 15 points for the Batang Pier.
Sidney Onwubere and Allyn Bulanadi chipped in 10 markers apiece for NorthPort.
The Dyip fell to 1-2, tasting their second straight loss after winning their conference debut against the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
CJ Catapusan led Terrafirma with 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Kevin Ferrer added 15 markers in the losing effort.
Brent Paraiso and Louie Sangalang also had 10 markers each to keep the Dyip in step before the Batang Pier pulled away early in the fourth quarter, and never looked back.
The Scores
First Game
NorthPort 97 – Tolentino 19, Navarro 18, Munzon 15, Bulanadi 10, Onwubere 10, Cuntapay 8, Yu 6, Nelle 6, Flores 3, Taha 2, Miranda 0, Tratter 0, Nava 0.
Terrafirma 75 – Catapusan 16, Ferrer 15, Sangalang 10, Paraiso 10, Nonoy 9, Melecio 3, Ramos 3, Pringle 2, Hernandez 2, Romeo 2, Olivario 2, Zaldivar 1, Hanapi 0.
Quarters: 24-13, 47-38, 70-58, 97-75.
Second Game
NLEX 109 – Torres 28, Bolick 23, Semerad 18, Mocon 12, Bahio 8, Nieto 5, Fajardo 5, Ramirez 3, Policarpio 2, Alas 2, Miranda 2, Valdez 1.
Rain or Shine 95 – Tiongson 24, Santillan 13, Clarito 12, Nocum 11, Mamuyac 10, Caracut 9, Norwood 6, Malonzo 5, Asistio 2, Lemetti 3, Datu 0.
Quarters: 32-25, 60-50, 86-73, 109-95.
– Rappler.com