NorthPort import Venky Jois and NorthPort gave new Converge reinforcement Jamil Wilson a rude welcome as they came up with a torrid first-half shooting and a strong second-half finish to pull off a convincing 111-95 triumph in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Philsports Arena.
Jois was simply dominant, finishing with 39 points, 21 rebounds, six assists and four blocks despite nursing a hamstring injury and playing with a different pair of sneakers.
In fact, Jois had to borrow from his teammate after his right shoe burst out due to the intensity of his performance.
“I burst through it,” said Jois, obviously unbothered despite playing with a blue shoe on his right foot and a black shoe on his left.
“My foot actually came out of the shoe. I had to play with my foot coming out of my sneaker, so we had to change it.”
Jois said although he likes playing with a different pair of shoes, he will still bring an extra pair from now on just in case “something happens.”
“If you take one away from me, I’ll keep the other.”
Despite the shoe debacle, Jois was a steady presence all game long for the Batang Pier, who sizzled from the field with 65 percent (23-of-38) in the first 24 minutes of play. Jois teamed up with Arvin Tolentino to register the team’s 29-of-58 shooting.
The Batang Pier improved their win-loss record to 4-2 while extending the woes of the FiberXers, who remained as the only winless team in the tournament and dropped deeper at the cellar with an 0-6 record.
