Bulacan, Iloilo boost drive in MPBL Lakan Cup

Malolos, Bulacan—The Bulacan Kuyas and Iloilo United Royals prevailed over their rivals and boosted their bid for top four finishes in the elimination round of Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Season on Thursday at Malolos Sports & Convention Center.

Coming off the bench, Gwyne Capacio poured in nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Kuyas thwarted the Quezon City Capitals, 78-70, and climbed to 19-10 in the North division, where they are lodged at sixth place.

Capacio, who grabbed 6 rebounds, got support from Jhan McHale Nermal with 14 points and 5 rebounds and Jovit dela Cruz with 10 and 7, respectively.

The Capitals, already out of playoffs contention, dropped to 10-19 despite the 13-point, 10-rebound output of Clark Derige and the 13-point, 7-rebound, 7-assist contribution of Mark Olayon.

Pitted against cellar-dweller Sarangani Province, the Royals settled for a 96-86 victory that raised their record to 18-11 and their standing to No. 4 in the South division.

Richard Escoto shone for the Royals with 24 points and 4 boards, followed by Donald Gumaro with 18 points, Al Francis Tamsi with 11, and Aaron Jeruta with 8 points and 12 assists.

Sarangani, which drew 22 points from Orin Catacutan, threatened at 55-58 but was unable to sustain its assault and tumbled to 1-27 in the South.

Also-ran Rizal Xentro Mall stunned Bicol-LCC Malls, 79-77, preventing the Volcanoes from advancing to the playoffs outright.

Veteran Mark Benitez starred in the Golden Coolers’ fifth win in 27 games, scoring Rizal’s last seven points, highlighted by back-to-back triples, to negate the efforts of Jerome Garcia, who also tallied the Volcanoes’ last seven points in a see-saw battle that saw 15 lead changes and 11 ties.

Benitez wound up with 17 points and 10 rebounds, followed by homegrown Jayvee Vidal with 14 points plus 5 rebounds, Kelvin Gregorio with 13 and 6, and Buenaventura Raflores with 11 and 8.

The Volcanoes, who drew 19 points from Garcia, tumbled to 15-14, still ahead of Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol (13-14) in the race for the eighth and last playoffs slot in the South division.

The MPBL returns to Cuneta Astrodome on Friday with Valenzuela and Pasig clashing at 4:15 p.m. Zamboanga and San Juan tangle at 6:45 p.m. while Basilan battles Pasay at 8:45 p.m.