Rice Vanguards, Knights dispute North crown

Nueva Ecija and San Juan clash for the North division title of the OKBet-Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 4th Season on Friday at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.

Game time is at 6:30 p.m. with the winner facing the survivor in the South division finals between Zamboanga and Batangas for the title.

The Rice Vanguards subdued the Knights, 89-83, in overtime last Monday at the FilOil Flying V Arena to tie their best-of-three series at one-game apiece.

Prior to that, the Knights shocked the erstwhile undefeated Rice Vanguards,79-72, in the series opener on 18 November.

Novo Ecijanos are again expected to come in droves to support the Vanguards, who swept the round-robin eliminations before ousting Marikina and Pampanga in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

Vanguards coach Jerson Cabiltes has a deeper roster to choose from while Knights coach Randy Alcantara can depend on a shallow rotation of only 10 players bannered by Judel Fuentes.

Burly JR Taganas, a former San Beda University star, is tipped to power the Vanguards.

In fact, he exploded for 19 points and 15 rebounds to compensate for the subpar performances of Michael Mabulac and Will Aloney at the slot.

Mabulac was held to only nine points and three rebounds while McAloney chipped in a forgettable six points and two rebounds in Game 2.

Hesed Gabo, for his part, fired 18 points, three assists and two steals to counter the 27-point performance of Fuentes as well as the 14-point effort of Marwin Taywan.