Streaking Bataan Camaya Coast weathered Bacolod Bingo Plus’ repeated rallies to prevail, 60-54, on Saturday in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) at the people-packed Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
Egged on by the hometown crowd, the Bataan Risers surged ahead, 28-15, which they used as traction to foil the Bacolodnons behind the steady hands of Arvie Bringas, James Darwin Castro, Gino Espuelas, Jamil Gabawan and Torrado.
It was the third straight win for Bataan, which rose to 4-1.
Bacolod skidded to 5-2 despite the return of Mark Yee to the roster.
Castro emerged best player with a 15-point, 7-rebound, 3-assist output. Bringas contributed 9 points, 6 in the fourth quarter, while Jethro Sombero chipped in 10 points.
Alwyn Alday scored 13 points for Bacolod, followed by Yee with 9 points and 10 boards.
Earlier, depleted Manila prevailed over Makati, 80-74, to notch its first back-to-back win in the 22-team tournament and climbed to 3-5.
Marvin Lee played his best game this far and came through with 17 points,7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals for Manila, which missed the services of 4 players headed by Gary David.
Lee got support from Joaquin Mariano with 16 points and 7 rebounds, Roldan Sara 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Joshua Fontanilla 11 points, Ronnie Matias 10 and Aaron Aban.
Pasig blew a 25-point third-quarter spread but held its ground to nip Rizal Xentro Mall, 89-87 in the opener. Pasig improved to 4-2 while Rizal tumbled to 3-3.
Makati fell to 1-8 despite the 16-point, 11-rebound effort of Vince Sarmiento, the 14 points of Kenz Rei Diokno, the 13 points of Kobe Bryant Pableo and the 10 points of Jan Gabriel Sobrevega.
The MPBL returns to the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center on Monday for another triple-bill.
Batangas City Embassy Chill (6-0) and Zamboanga Family’s Brand Sardines (5-0) will try to extend their winning streaks when they tangle with Valenzuela City (4-3) and Sarangani (5-1), respectively.
Resurgent Pampanga tangles with GenSan at 9 p.m.
Composed mostly of homegrown talents, Pampanga is on a 3-game roll for a 4-3 record, while GenSan is at 2-4.
