Parañaque and Davao trounced separate opponents on Saturday to sail smoothly forward in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Bataan People’s Center in Balanga City.
The Paranaque Patriots turned hot in the fourth quarter and subdued the Bataan Risers, 74-58, in the nightcap while the Davao Occidental Tigers dominated the Mindoro Tamaraws from the first quarter en route to an 82-59 triumph in the opener.
Binan, on the other hand, needed KG Canaleta’s turnaround jumper at the buzzer to lift Binan Tatak Gel past Rizal Xentromall, 82-80, in the other game of another elimination round triple bill.
Holding a slim 51-47 lead after the third quarter, the Patriots pulled away behind the guns of John Uduba and JP Sarao to notch their 12th win against 7 losses.
The 6-foot-4 Uduba wound up with 17 points and 11 rebounds to complement JR Olegario’s 18-point, 4-rebound, 3-steal, 3-assist effort. Sarao finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, followed by Joshua Gallano with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Bataan, which skidded to 4-14, got 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists from Jeff Santos, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks from Yves Sazon, and 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists from Jamil Gabawan.
The Davao Occidental Tigers had an even easier time climbing to 13-5, with all the 14 players fielded scoring two points or more.
Dariel Bayla presided over Davao’s balanced offense with 13 points plus 8 rebounds and received help from Vincent Campo with 12 points, and Kurt Lojera and Jansher Salubre with 9 each.
Mindoro dropped to 5-14 despite the 13-point, 10-rebound effort of Jethro Sombero, the 11 points of Claude Gamit, and the 10-point, 4-rebound output of Joseph Marquez.
Recovering from a near-fumble, Canaleta defied the outstretched arm of his defender to give Binan its only taste of the lead after trailing by as far as 47-63.
The 6-foot-6 former slam dunk king wound up with a career-high 30 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to earn best player honors and push Binan to its 10th win against 7 losses.
Jaymar Gimpayan supported Canaleta with 13 points, 16 rebounds plus 2 steals, and so did Kenny Roger Rocacurva with 10 points, 9 in the fourth quarter where Rizal still led at 67-77 with 3 minutes and 48 seconds to go.
With the count tied at 80, Rizal had ball possession with 3.7 seconds to go but Janjan Salazar committed a bad pass and handed possession back to Binan.
Rizal, which fell to 10-9, got 23 points from Alwyn Alday, 17 from Marco Balagtas and 12 from Kraniel Villoria.
The MPBL returns to the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center on Monday, July 22, with games pitting Bulacan against Muntinlupa at 4 p.m., Pangasinan against Negros at 6 p.m., and Batangas against Pampanga at 8 p.m.
