Valenzuela celebrated Dennis Santos’ return with an 88-81 victory over Bacolod City of Smiles on Saturday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.
The 6-foot-5 Santos fired 29 points, 23 in the first half, to lift the Valenzuela Classics to their 8th win in 16 starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Coming back from a muscle injury, Santos also wound up with 7 rebounds and 2 assists despite being used sparingly in the second half, where Valenzuela carried a built-in 56-41 advantage.
New acquisition Mark Montuano supported the wiry, springy forward with 18 points plus 8 rebounds and veteran Paolo Hubalde with 7 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Bacolod, which fielded only 8 players, tumbled to 1-15 despite the 35-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist effort of Louie Vigil, the 12-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist output of Danny Marilao, and the 11-point, 3-rebound, 3-assist, 2-steal contribution of Tricky Dyn Peromingan.
With Santos drilling in five of 9 triple attempts, the Classics shot 37.5 percent from afar, way better than the Bacolenos’ 7 of 25 for 28 percent.
The MPBL goes to the San Andres Sports Complex on Monday, July 1, with games pitting Bulacan against Iloilo at 4 p.m., Abra against Batangas at 6 p.m., and South Cotabato against Manila at 8 p.m.