The South All-Stars rode on a buzzer-beater jumper by Eric Camson to nip their counterparts from the North, 82-81, on Saturday in the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season All-Star Game at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
Atoning for two airball triples earlier, Camson, of Rizal Xentromall, got the inbound with 1.5 seconds left and did not hesitate to take the fallaway off the outstretched arm of Dave Ildefonso and seal the thriller that avenged the Southerners’ back-to-back losses to the Northerners in 2023 and 2024.
Nueva Ecija’s Jaycee Marcelino gave the North back the lead, 81-80, from a 10-point deficit with a jumper, only 5.2 ticks left.
It was Quezon Huskers’ Judel Fuentes who clinched MVP honors as he bunched 12 points that pushed the South to a 77-67 spread in the fourth quarter.
Fuentes posted 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals for South coach Eric Gonzales, also his mentor with the Huskers.
Camson finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds, Samboy de Leon, also of Rizal, tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds; Cebu’s Jun Manzo 10 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds; and Muntinlupa’s Marvin Hayes 9 points.
North Coach Yong Garcia got 21 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists from Marcelino, 16 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds from Ildefonso; 9 points each from Pampanga’s Larry Muyang and Pangasinan’s Vic Manuel, and 4 points each from Abra’s Raven Gonzales and Pampanga’s Archie Concepcion.
The victory, which came after 21 lead changes and 7 deadlocks, was worth P500,000, given by MPBL Founder and Chairman Manny Pacquiao, for the South team, which drew 7 points from Binan’s Warren Bonifacio.
Other members of the winning team were Ximone Sandagon (Quezon), Abdul Sawat (Zamboanga), Levi Hernandez (Batangas)m Ino Comboy (Mindoro), Kyle Tolentino (Gensan), LJ Gonzales (Quezon), JP Cauilan (Zamboanga), Marc Pingris (Binan) and Alex Cabagnot (Basilan).
Jackson rules slam-dunk
Shean Jackson of the San Juan Knights soared for perfect 50 scores in all his successful attempts to dethrone Joe Gomez de Liano of Manila Batang Quiapo as the slam dunk king.
The 6-foot-2 springy Fil-Am guard bested De Liano and Pampanga’s Sonny Estil in the finals and pocketed P20,000 plus the champion’s trophy.
Other high-flyers who competed were Warlo Batac of Pasig, Nikki Perez of Batangas, Limuel Tampus of Cebu, Ashon Andrews of Mindoro, and Rodel Gravera of Quezon Province.
Cruz tops 3-point shootout
Mark Cruz of the Gensan Warriors recalled his shooting form a decade ago and became the new MPBL 3-point champion.
The 5-of-6 playmaker, the 2015 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) 3-point king while with the Letran Knights, made 22 points in the tiebreaker to beat Binan Tatak Gel’s Joseph Penaredondo, who tallied 14, for P20,000 plus trophy.
Cruz and Penaredondo, a first-timer in the 3-point shootout,” scored 19 points each on buzzer-beaters, easing out Caloocan Batang Kankaloo’s Jeff Manday, who posted 18 points in the finals.
Batangas’ Philip Paniamogan, Donald Gumaru (Pampanga), Diego Dario (Quezon Province), Joseph Terso (Davao) and Renz Gabat (Zamboanga) also advanced to the second round from 15 participants.
The biggest disappointment was San Juan’s Orlan Wamar, the event’s back-to-back winner in 2023 and 2024, who bowed out with just 11 points in the elimination round.
