Quezon draws first blood vs Binan in MPBL South finals
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon Province survived Binan's final assault and prevailed, 57-55, on Monday in Game 1 of the 747 Live presents Manny Pacquiao MPBL 2025 Season South Division Finals at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Binan could have forced overtime, but Marc Pingris overshot an open attempt inside with 1.1 seconds, allowing the Quezon Huskers to bolster their drive to retain the South crown.
Ahead, 54-46, the Huskers got outscored in the last four minutes 9-3 on a triple by Gab Banal. His harrowing miss spoiled Pingris' valiant effort in making Binan's last four points.
Judel Fuentes led Quezon with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, followed by Ximoe Sandagon with 11 points and three rebounds, and homegrown Emman Tagle with nine points, all from triples in the second quarter, and LJ Gonzales with six points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Binan drew 13 points and nine rebounds from Warren Bonifacio; nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals from Pingris; and seven points, six rebounds and two assists from Kenny Roger Rocacurva.
Recovering from Quezon's 10-0 start, Binan seized the lead at 24-22 on an inside thrust by Marc Pingris.
Tagle, however, converted three clutch triples to push Quezon back on top. The first half ended at 32-28.
Sandagon provided the highlights in the third quarter with a right-handed slam and a buzzer-beating tip-in that raised Quezon's lead to 50-38.
It could have been bigger were if not for the Huskers' six misses out of eight charities in that span.
Game 2 will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Lucena Convention Center.
Meanwhile, Ma. Andrea Endicio, Miss Tourism International Philippines 2025, was honored with her parents in tow before the game started. Endicio is an MPBL courtside reporter from Candelaria, Quezon.
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