MPBL: Paranaque thwarts Manila; Rizal stuns Pampanga

MANILA, Philippines – The Paranaque Patriots surged ahead in the second quarter then weathered a fiery comeback by Manila SV Batang Sampaloc to prevail, 82-78, on Tuesday in the 6th MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Season at the Villar Coliseum in Las Pinas.

Riding the hot hands of Jielo Razon and the all-around play of veteran Mark Yee, Paranaque erected a 52-29 spread that buffered the Patriots from the Batang Sampaloc's fiery fourth quarter rally.

Tagged the underdog, Paranaque drew inspiration from Rizal XentroMall, which toppled defending national champion Pampanga, 78-71, earlier.

Razon fired 25 points, spiced by five triples, and grabbed eight rebounds; while Yee, rejuvenated by the three-month break, tallied 18 points, including two triples, snagged 18 rebounds and blocked two attempts for the Patriots of Coach Michael Saguiguit.

John Rey Villanueva also shone for Paranaque with 15 points and six rebounds; and so did Paul Sarao with eight points and four rebounds; John Uduba with seven points and eight rebounds; and Philip Manalang with 11 assists and two points.

Manila rallied in the fourth quarter behind Carl Bryan Cruz, but fell short as Razon and Sarao joined forces to quell the uprising.

Cruz, Filipino-American DJ Mitchell and Ahmad Didat Hanapi scored 13 each for Manila, which also got 10 points from Pao Javelona.

Trailing by as far as 13-32, Rizal tied Pampanga at halftime, 38-38, then controlled the rest of the way to join the ranks of the early leaders in the 30-team league

Feeling the absence of reigning MPBL Most Valuable Player Justine Baltazar, who showed up in street clothes, the Giant Lanterns fell behind, 64-74, in the fourth quarter, from which they were unable to recover.

Kraniel Victoria tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals; while Keith Agovida posted 16 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals for Rizal, which also drew 12 points, 13 rebounds and four assists from Alwyn Alday.

Pampanga, which missed head coach Gov. Dennis Pineda who was abroad, got 13 points from Kurt Reyson; 11 points plus 12 rebounds from Brandon Ramirez; and 11 points plus 11 rebounds from Kevin Kyle Santos.

The Iloilo United Royals got better each quarter and battered the Bacolod City of Smiles, 85-67, in the opener.

Up by just five points at the turn, the United Royals pulled away, 66-49, after the third quarter, before thwarting the Bacolenos' fightbacks.

Chris Doliguez and Ry De La Rosa led Iloilo with 15 points each, followed by homegrown Mark Nonoy with 10 points and Jason Credo with nine.

Clobbered off the boards, 49-63, the United Royals compensated with better field goal shooting, converting 34 of 61 tries for 42% against only 22 out of 75 for the Bacolenos.

Doliguez also snagged five rebounds while De La Rosa had four rebounds and two assists for Iloilo Coach Mac Abolucion.

Bacolod drew 15 points, six rebounds and four assists from Danny Marilao; 10 points and 14 rebounds from Nichole Ubalde; and 10 points plus six rebounds from Salvador Galit.

The MPBL visits the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan on Wednesday, with South Cotabato battling Imus at 4 p.m., Quezon City tackling Muntinlupa at 6 p.m., and Batangas facing Bulacan at 8 p.m.