Antipolo—Makati Super Crunch and Manila Stars took different paths before making it to the win column of the MPBL Season 3 at the Ynares Sports Center here.
Owner of the longest winning streak last season at 15 before bowing in the quarterfinal round against Quezon City, Makati blasted home team Rizal Golden Coolers, 73-51, in what was easily the most lopsided win so far in the third season of this tournament put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend and former MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.
Ex-pro Joseph Sedurifa led the way with 15 points while John Rey Villanueva contributed 14. Former NLEX Road Warrior Jeckster Apinan had a double-double performance of 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Super Crunch completely dominated the Golden Coolers coached by former Barangay Ginebra star and long-time MPBL analyst Jayvee Gayoso.
The Super Crunch held the Golden Coolers to only 30-percent shooting from the field (19-of-62) with only Marco Benitez tallying in double figures with 13. Makati also had 22 second-chance points compared to only 10 for Rizal.
As a team, Makati also played better, dishing out 24 assists, 11 more than its counterpart.
“At the back of our minds, the setback from last season is still there,” said Makati coach Cholo Villanueva. “But I believe we’re a wiser this year and I hope everything we learned from last season, we’ll be able to make good use of it this season.”
Unlike Makati, which won in a breeze, Manila had to grind it out before preserving a tense 86-85 win for the Frontrow-backed Stars.
Aris Dionisio, the reigning MPBL Defensive Player of the Year, did what he does best with a big defensive gem in the closing seconds to seal the win for Manila, now being handled by Justino Pinat and Ariel Vanguardia.
Dionisio had to chase down PJ Barua, who was on his way to score the winning layup for Quezon City. Dionisio—an athletic, 6-foot-4 forward—came from behind and rushed back on the defensive end to swat away a potential winning play.
