Quezon Province foiled Sarangani’s fightbacks and prevailed, 72-68, on Thursday to become the solo leader in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Ximone Sandagon and LJ Gonzales canned two free throws each to shatter the last deadlock at 68 with 23.7 seconds left to lift the Quezon Huskers to their 12th straight win in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
It was, however, Gab Banal who shone the most for Quezon with 18 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals to earn best player honors.
Gonzales finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals while Domark Matillano ended up with 11 points, spiked by 3 triples.
The Huskers could not pull away as the Marlins kept coming back through Ryan Isaac Sual, Marvin Hayes and Jaymark Mallari.
Sual wound up with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Hayes submitted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds plus 2 assists for the Marlins, who tumbled to 3-11.
