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NorthPort forward Arvin Tolentino.–PBA IMAGES

Starting the second round of the PBA Governors’ Cup group stage on a bright note sweetened by his first career triple-double, Arvin Tolentino is looking to spring up as many victories as he can for the NorthPort Batang Pier.

“Our goal is to beat the teams that are below us, and try our best to beat those above us,” Tolentino said after his 23-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist stats line stood as in the Batang Pier’s walloping the winless Terrafirma Dyip, 133-107, on Sunday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

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The blowout that also saw the return of import Venky Jois, who had 26 points and 15 rebounds, from an ankle injury kept NorthPort inside the top four of Group A, forging a tie at press time with Magnolia for third at 3-3.

NorthPort next faces Converge, which was aiming to improve its 2-3 record against TNT in the nightcap, in the first meeting of both teams since Tolentino dropped a career-best 51 points, the highest for a local since Asi Taulava in 2004.

Tolentino acknowledged afterward his desire to perform well in other aspects of his game, which he was able to prove with the triple-double which the former national youth standout and Far Eastern University product said was his first at any level.

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All-around contributions

He expectedly cooled off after his half-century conquest, coinciding with back-to-back defeats for NorthPort at the hands of Meralco and Magnolia, with the Hotshots holding Tolentino to 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

“For the past few conferences, I have led the team in scoring, but also I want to contribute in other aspects of the game,” Tolentino said. “Rebounding is an effort while the assists [comes by] playing with your teammates, getting your teammates involved.

“And that’s what I’ve been working on since I’ve moved to NorthPort because teams know that I’m the team’s top scorer. I have to be mature enough to recognize that,” he added.

Jois returned from his absence against Magnolia, so has William Navarro who sustained a similar injury. Navarro had 18 points and six rebounds while sophomore forward Cade Flores posted 15 points and seven rebounds, with Jio Jalalon adding 12 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

Terrafirma’s misery was extended with a sixth consecutive loss, its chances of catching up in the race for four quarterfinal seats slowly slipping away.

Christian Standhardinger had 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals before being subbed late after hurting his left knee. Terrafirma is already feeling the effects of Juami Tiongson’s absence due to a hamstring problem.

Terrafirma’s next game is on Thursday against Magnolia, which on Saturday lost, 82-74, to Meralco in the tournament’s last provincial game in Panabo, Davao del Norte, by playing with an all-Filipino lineup. INQ