MPBL: Powerhouse Pampanga notches 13th straight win

MANILA, Philippines – Pampanga further bolstered its firepower and routed Pasig, 81-66, in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season on Thursday at the crammed Bren Guiao Convention Center in the provincial capital San Fernando City.

Already deadly with Justine Baltazar at the helm, Pampanga paraded prized acquisitions Encho Serrano, John Lloyd Clemente and Allen Bryant Liwag, who did their share in pushing the Giant Lanterns to their 13th straight win in the elimination round of the 29-team tournament.

While the 6-foot-8 Baltazar remained the fulcrum of Pampanga's plays and wound up with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Serrano, who nixed a contract extension with Phoenix Super LPG in the PBA to play for his home province, made an instant impact with 15 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds to earn best player honors.

The 6-foot-6 Liwag, formerly of Emilio Aguinaldo College and Mindoro in the MPBL, contributed eight points and seven rebounds, while the 6-foot-3 Clemente, a former star of the high school and varsity teams of National University, chipped in six points.

Another Pampanga recruit, Carlo Ferreras, was only fielded for 1:46 and failed to score.

Archie Concepcion also did his share for the Giant Lanterns being coached by Gov. Dennis "Delta" Pineda with 10 points.

Pasig, which trailed by as far as 51-76 skidded to 9-6, despite the 17 points it got from Ryan Paule Costelo and 13 from Robbie Manalang.

Earlier games saw Caloocan and Rizal overcome the tough resistance from Manila and Bicol, respectively.

The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo wasted an 18-point spread, but recovered in time to subdue the Manila Stars, 79-75, while the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers extend the woes of the Bicol Volcanoes, 82-78.

Led by veterans Gabby Espinas and Reil Cervantes, Caloocan surged ahead at 58-40 but got complacent and even allowed Manila to wrest control at 73-69, midway through the fourth quarter.

Espinas ended up with 14 points, followed by Cervantes with 11 for the Batang Kankaloo, who rose to 10-4.

Manila, which tumbled to 2-13, got 15 points from veteran reinforcement Allan Mangahas and 14 from Kyle Neypes.

While Michael Are and Troy Mallillin led Rizal's offense with 16 and 15 points, respectively, it was Alvin John Capobres who sealed the Golden Coolers' 6th win 15 games by canning two charities in the last five seconds. Bicol absorbed its 15th straight defeat.

The MPBL visits the Olivarez College Gym on Friday with Pasay battling Mindoro at 4 p.m., Quezon City tackling Marikina at 6 p.m., and Socsargen tangling with host Paranaque at 8 p.m.