Knights rip Weavers for win No. 5

MANILA, Philippines — The San Juan Knights trounced the Abra Weavers, 95-82, Thursday to grab the solo lead in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.

Powered by Zach Huang and Arvin Gamboa, the Knights pulled away, 85-60, and cruised to their fifth straight win in as many starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.

Huang fired 17 points, while Gamboa, a former star of the Mapua Cardinals, posted 16 points plus three rebounds to earn best player honors.

The Knights, the MPBL Datu Cup champion now being coached by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, also got the push from Orlan Wamar, who tallied 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds, AC Soberano with 12 points and Michael Calisaan with 10.

The Weavers showed up with top gun Mark Tallo, but still couldn’t match the Knights’ firepower and fell to the lower half of the standings at 3-4.

Other games saw Iloilo edge Bacolod, 75-73, and Quezon City subdue Mindoro, 78-71.