Nueva Ecija routed Bataan, 85-70, on Friday to share the lead in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Calasiao Sports Complex in Pangasinan.
The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards posted their 12th straight win in as many starts, shoving them at the helm with the Quezon Huskers in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Defending champion Pampanga battered Bulacan, 124-81, in the opener while Quezon City nipped Pangasinan, 78-74, in the nightcap.
Led by Chris Bitoon, the 2022 MPBL titlist Rice Vanguards pulled away at 60-42 and were never headed by the Risers, who fell to 4-10.
Bitoon, who posted 14 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds, was backed by John Bryon Villarias with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Will McAloney with 11 points and 6 rebounds, and Rob Celiz, JB Bahio and Emman Calo with 10 points each.
Bataan got 18 points and 8 rebounds from Mitchelle Maynes and 12 points from James Castro.
Pampanga, with seven Giant Lanterns posting twin digits, zoomed beyond reach, 118-72, for its 13th straight win after an initial loss.
Kurt Spencer Reyson submitted a triple-double of 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to go with 4 steals, but it was his fellow Giant Lantern Archie Concepcion who earned best player honors after barely missing a triple-double with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists.
Other Giant Lanterns who shone were Jeff Viernes with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, homegrown Ronan Santos with 15 points and 6 rebounds, Jhaymo Eguilos with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, plus 2 blocks, and Lervin Flores with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Although the Giant Lanterns missed the services of 6-foot-8 Justine Baltazar and 6-6 Allen Bryant Liwag, they still dominated the boards, 67-41, and expectedly outscored the Kuyas inside the paint, 64-28.
With Reyson hitting 5 of 9 attempts and Concepcion making 3 of 5, the Giant Lanterns shot an impressive 14 of 27 (51.9 percent) from the 3-point zone.
Bulacan, which dropped to 2-12, got 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals from Jason Celis, 17 points and 4 rebounds from Jan Baltazar and 10 points, 5 rebounds, plus 3 assists from Eric James Jabel.
Unlike the Rice Vanguards and the Giant Lanterns, the Quezon City TODA Aksyon Capitals met stiff resistance before raising their record to 7-7.
John Paul Cauilan canned a triple with 9.5 seconds left to give Quezon City back the lead, 74-72. Pangasinan’s inbound error paved the way for Rafael Are’s split two charities and two more free throws as Rhinwill Yambing snagged the offensive rebound off Are’s missed second charity with 3.4 ticks left.
Paul Garcia paced Quezon with 22 points and 2 steals, followed by Yambing with 19 points, 9 rebounds, plus 3 steals, and Chino Mosqueda with 11 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds.
Pangasinan, which fell to 5-9, got 18 points plus 4 assists from Hesed Gabo, 12 points plus 3 rebounds from Allen Mina, whose free throw pushed the Heatwaves ahead, 74-72, with only 14 seconds to go.
The MPBL returns to the Batangas City Coliseum on Monday, June 24, with Pasay battling Manila at 4 p.m., Davao tackling Abra at 6 p.m. and Valenzuela clashing with Batangas at 8 p.m.