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Quezon, Zamboanga, Pasay tally MPBL wins

Philstar.com
Quezon, Zamboanga, Pasay tally MPBL wins
Laurenz Victoria in action for the Pasay Voyagers.
MPBL

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon Province and Zamboanga Sikat posted convincing victories on Tuesday to move nearer the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season leaders at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. 

The Quezon Huskers exploited their board dominance to trounce the Quezon City Galeries Taipans, 79-66, in the opener, while the Zamboanguenos banked on a second-quarter run to subdue Manila Batang Quiapo, 106-89, in the second game of the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.

Roi Sumang and Paul Turcu fired five each as Zamboanga bundled 14 points to wrest control from Manila, 49-40, and proceed to match Quezon's 5-1 record.

They trail Nueva Ecija (6-0), San Juan (4-0), Muntilupa (3-0) and Pasig (1-0) and were tied with Abra, Rizal Xentromall and Pangasinan in the chase for playoff spots.

The Pasay Voyagers also gained traction with a coast-to-coast 91-83 conquest of the Sarangani Grippers in the nightcap.

Powered by Laurenz Victoria, Warren Bonifacio, Cyrus Tabi and AJ Coronel, Pasay climbed to 5-2 and pulled down Sarangani to 0-7. 

Victoria tallied 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals; Bonifacio 12 points, 14 rebounds and two assists; Tabi 12 points, five rebounds and two steals; and Coronel 10 points plus five rebounds.

Sarangani got 17 points, six rebounds and three assists from Martin Gozum; 16 points, nine rebounds from Arvie Bringas; 15 points plus two rebounds from Junjie Hallare; and 11 points plus 12 rebounds from Larce Christian Sunga.  

Sinking five triples, Sumang pooled 23 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks to clinch Best Player honors over teammates Michael Are, who chalked up 13 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals; and Abdul Sawat, who notched 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Reggz Albert Sawat contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists; John Arthur Calisay with 10 points plus four rebounds; and the 6-foot-6 Turco with nine points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

Manila absorbed its sixth straight defeat after an initial win despite the joint efforts of homegrown John Ashley Faa, who posted 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists; and Richard Albo with 22 points plus seven rebounds.

The Huskers grabbed 50 rebounds against the Taipans' 34 and converted this edge to more points in the paint, 30-16, second chance points, 18-3, and fast break points, 17-3.

Christian Pagaran, a 6-foot-1 prized find from the University of Perpetual Help System (DALTA), posted 10 points and four rebounds and was named Best Player over fellow Huskers Joseph Gabayani with 11 points and six rebounds, and Jason Opiso with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Other Huskers who delivered for Coach Eric Gonzales were Judel Ric Fuentes with 10 points, four assists and two steals; Vince Magbuhos with 10 points and three rebounds; and LJ Gonzales with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and 2 blocks.

Quezon City, which fell to 2-4, got 14 points, five assists and four rebounds from Franz Diaz; 12 points, three assists and two rebounds from Nino Ibanez; and 10 points, three rebounds and two assists from Jerome Santos.

The league returns to the Caloocan Sports Complex on Wednesday, April 9, with games pitting Gensan against Valenzuela at 4 p.m., Ilagan Isabela against Pampanga at 6 p.m., and Nueva Ecija against Caloocan at 8 p.m.

LAURENZ VICTORIA

MPBL

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