MPBL: Zamboanga escapes South Cotabato; Quezon, Caloocan triumph

MANILA, Philippines – Joseph Gabayni sustained what twins Jaycee and Jayvee Marcelino triggered as Zamboanga Master Sardines thwarted South Cotabato, 85-83, on Monday and wrested the solo lead in the 6th MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Season at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila.

The burly Gabayni poured nine points in the last 3:20 to power Zamboanga to its fifth straight win in as many outings in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team regional tournament.

With Zamboanga trailing, 68-70, Jaycee scored on a drive, drilled in a triple, and then fed Jayvee for another incursion that put Coach Louie Alas' wards ahead to stay.

Michole Sorela pushed South Cotabato to within 72-75, but Gabayni bunched five points against a basket by Marwin Dionisio to restore order, 80-74, with 2:30 to go.

South Cotabato, formerly Gensan, threatened anew at 80-75 following back-to-back triples by Val Acuna and Kyle Tolentino, only for Gabayni to knock in a short jumper that pulled down the Warriors to a 2-3 record.

Jaycee, the 2022 MPBL MVP, finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals and shared best player honors with Jayvee, who piled 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. The 6-foot-5 Gabayni tallied 16 points and seven rebounds.

South Cotabato got 15 points from Tolentino; 11 points each from Marwin Dionisio and Enzo Joson; 10 points from Larry Rodriguez; and 12 rebounds plus four points from Jammer Jamito.

Quezon Province came from behind to stun Manila SV Batang Sampaloc in the nightcap.

Xyrus Torres and Judel Fuentes split Quezon's last 10 points with 1:23 seconds left as the Huskers erased a 60-62 deficit and climbed to a 3-0 card.

Fuentes finished with 17 points and four rebounds to emerge as the best player. Torres posted 11 points plus four rebounds while and Ximone Sandagon notched 11 points and five boards.
Other Huskers who delivered were LJ Gonzales with seven points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block; and Domark Matillano with nine points and five rebounds.

Manila slid to 3-2 despite the 18-point effort of Rabeh Al-Hussaini as no other Star scored in double figures.

Caloocan piled a big lead then coasted to an 80-73 wire-to-wire victory over Bacolod City of Smiles in the opener.

Banking on Joel Lee Yu and homegrown Alejandro Inigo, the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo erected their biggest spread at 64-41 before the third quarter ended.

The Bacolenos, led by JJ Espanola, rallied behind a 31-point fourth quarter explosion, but fell short of overtaking the Batang Kankaloo, who rebounded from a 66-69 loss to Manila on their debut on April 23.  

Bacolod skidded to 1-4 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.

Veterans Reil Cervantes and Gabby Espinas paced Caloocan with 14 and 10 points, respectively, followed by Joco Tayongtong with nine.

Bacolod got 13 points, 10 rebounds and four steals from Danny Marilao; and 11 each from Espanola, who poured 10 points in the fourth quarter, and Tricky Dyn Peromingan.

The MPBL returns to the Olivarez College Gym in Paranaque on Tuesday, April 30. Games on tap are Bulacan against Bataan at 4 p.m., Sarangani against San Juan at 6 p.m., and Valenzuela against Paranaque at 8 p.m.