Bacolod edges Imus in MPBL

MANILA – BacolodBingo Plus kicked off its 2022 MPBL Mumbaki Cup season campaign with a 6757 beating of Imus BanderaGLC Trucks and Equipment on Monday night at the San Juan Arena.

Jhan McHale Nermal was hailed as Player of the Game for the debuting Bacolod with 17 points, all scored in the last two quarters, to go with eight rebounds.

The Kabankalan Citynative Nermal, who briefly played for the San Miguel Beermen i n t he PBA 3x3, had a huge role for the Bacolodnons as they overcame a slow start en route to a 1-0 start.

Negrense J e r a mer Cabanag also hit doubledi g i t on of f ense f or Bacolod- Bingo Plus with 12 points, while Edrian Lao and Ilonggo Aaron Jeruta chipped in with nine and seven, respectively.

It was a quick turnaround for the Bacolod-Bingo Plus after being booted out from

Harden tightly guarded by Tucker, Miami went on a 10-2 blast in the opening half for a 37-24 lead before surrendering a 51-50 lead to the 76ers at the half.

The Heat regained the lead at 6261 in the third canto on an Adebayo dunk before pulling away for good after dropping 10-0 and later 13-2 scoring runs for their biggest lead of 98-77.

Tobias Harris scored 27 points to lead Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey chipped in 19 markers, while Harden was limited to 16 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists.

Phoenix Suns, for its part, kicked off its NBA Western Conference semifinals series with Dallas Mavericks with a 121-114 triumph at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker and Chris Paul set the tone on offense with a quick 35-25 start before maintaining the advantage that reached 96-77 in the third quarter.

The Suns were still up by doubledigits late in the fourth quarter before the Mavericks came up with a late rally but managed to only cut the deficit to 114-119.

Ayton top-scored for the Suns with 25 points to go with eight rebounds, Booker chipped in 23 markers, while Paul and Cameron Johnson contributed 19 and 17, respectively.

Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 45 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, while Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson had 19, 15 and 13, respectively./