Powerhouses Pampanga and San Juan tightened their hold of the 1-2 spots while South Cotabato gained ground in the MPBL ((Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season on Friday at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The Pampanga Giant Lanterns trounced the Iloilo United Royals, 88-49, while the San Juan Knights kept in step by dumping the Imus Agimat VA Drones with the same 39-point margin, 100-61, in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 29-team tournament.
Pampanga, the reigning titlist, extended its winning streak to 22 after an initial loss, while San Juan, the 2019 champion, notched its 11th straight victory and climbed to 20-1.
The South Cotabato Warriors overpowered the Sarangani Marlins, 90-85, and improved to 15-8, catching up with the Davao Occidental Tigers.
Powered by reigning MVP Justine Baltazar and MJ Garcia, Pampanga pulled Iloilo down to 8-14, further dampening the United Royals’ chances of advancing to the 8-team playoffs in the South Division.
Pampanga, San Juan, Nueva Ecija (18-2) and Manila (16-6) have long clinched playoff slots in the North Division.
South Cotabato, on the other hand, is assured of joining Quezon Province (17-3), Zamboanga (16-5) and Batangas (16-7) in the South playoffs.
Baltazar posted 25 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, while Garcia chalked 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. They were supported by Archie Concepcion with 9 points, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Iloilo drew 13 points from Clint Doliguez and 11 from Ry-Aijer De La Rosa.
Like Pampanga, San Juan zoomed ahead by halftime, 60-24, and used all its 15 players to relegate Imus to 1-21.
Homegrown Joseph Ubalde shone for the Knights with 17 points and 11 rebounds, complementing Marwin Taywan’s 19 points, highlighted by a perfect 5 of 5 triples. Kenneth Neil Villapando tallied 11 points and 6 rebounds while Dave Ando chalked 10 points for San Juan coach Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Imus got 13 points plus 10 rebounds from Kenneth Velasco, 13 points plus 7 rebounds from Jameson Hiro and 10 points from John Edmar Gonzaga.
The Warriors, powered by Jammer Jamito’s 11 points and 7 rebounds, Larry Rodriguez’s 10 points, and Kyle Tolentino’s 10 points plus 10 rebounds, led by as far as 91-68 before cruising home.
Sarangani slumped to 5-17 despite Ryan Isaac Sual’s 18 points, Marvin Hayes’ 16, and Jomar Madayag’s 11.
The MPBL returns to the Calasiao Sports Complex on Saturday with games pitting Muntinlupa against Abra at 4 p.m., Rizal against Valenzuela at 6 p.m., and Zamboanga against host Pangasinan at 8 p.m.
