Batangas leaned on a scoring spree to subdue Binan, 79-72, on Tuesday and rev up its drive in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas,
Trailing, 22-26, Batangas City Tanduay Rum bunched 12 points to pull ahead at halftime, 34-26, and never looked back to tally its 10th win against 2 losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Levi Hernandez, who extended the Rum Masters’ run with a triple early in the third quarter, delivered 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks to earn best player honors.
Jeckster Apinan supported Hernandez with 14 points, 4 rebounds plus 3 assists and so did Cedric Ablaza with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Back-to-back layups by Hernandez and Apinan and a triple by Ablaza shoved Batangas ahead, 71-55, but Binan managed to close the gap at 68-74 with only 31.7 seconds left through the efforts of Roger Rocacurva, Carlo Lastimosa and Mark Cardona.
Binan, which fell to 6-4, got 17 points each from Nino Canaleta and Lastimosa and 12 from Rocacurva, all in the fourth quarter.
Other games saw Quezon City nip Negros, 83-79, and Pangasinan trounce Mindoro, 81-62.
Quezon City TODA Aksyon’s Paeng Are and Rhinwill Yambing to erase a 58-67 deficit early in the fourth quarter en route to its fifth victory against seven defeats.
Are poured all of his 12 points while Yambing added 8 of his team-high 23 points, highlighted by a power slam, in the last 10 minutes as Quezon City overtook Negros’ 4-9 slate.
Yambing also chalked 9 rebounds and 2 steals while Are added 4 rebounds and 4 assists for Quezon City Coach Egay Macaraya.
Negros crumbled despite the 27-point, 6-rebound, 4-assist effort of Renz Palma, the 17-point, 5-rebounfd, 2-steal output of Hubert Cani and the 11-point, 7-rebound, 2-steal contribution of James Paul Una.
Unlike Quezon City, the Pangasinan Heatwaves breezed past the Mindoro Tamaraws, leading by as far as 64-41 before cruising to their fourth win in 12 starts.
Ralph Robin paced Pangasinan with 21 points and 3 rebounds, followed by Ian Melencio with 12 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, and Ed Daquiaog with 10 points.
Mindoro, which fell to 4-9, got 17 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds from Ken Bono and 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists from homegrown John Jerrick Caspe.
The MPBL returns to the BRen Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga on Wednesday with games pitting Bicol against Bacolod at 4 p.m., Iloilo against South Cotabato at 6 p.m. and Davao against Pampanga at 8 p.m.
