THE Pangasinan Heatwaves turned hot from the start and torched the Bulacan Kuyas, 91-51 , on Friday to grab the early lead in the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
Way ahead, 45-20, at the half, the Heatwaves kept on grinding behind Michael Mabulac, Michael Digregorio and homegrown Kriss Kelly Gurtiza to notch their second straight win in the round-robin elimination round of the 30-team tournament.
Mabulac tallied 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists to earn best player honors over Digregorio, who finished with 12 points and 2 rebounds, and Gurtiza, who notched 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals for Coach Jerson Cabiltes.
Vic Manuel flexed his muscles with 11 points and 4 rebounds, while Jerald Bautista chalked 8 points and 5 rebounds for the Heatwaves, who posted their biggest margin at the buzzer.
The Kuyas got 17 points and 8 rebounds from RR De Leon and 13 points plus 8 rebounds from Jebb Bulawan, but still got clobbered off the boards, 39-55.
Thriving underneath, the Heatwaves pumped in 52 points against only 28 for the Kuyas. They also scored 23 from turnovers against only 7 for the Kuyas.
The MPBL goes to the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City on Saturday, with games pitting Quezon City against Valenzuela at 4 p.m., Manila against Rizal at 6 p.m., and Nueva Ecija against Basilan at 8 p.m.