Pasay shocks Batangas five; San Juan wins
Laurenz Victoria hit a dagger jumper at the buzzer to power Pasay past Batangas, 65-64, on Thursday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
The long 2-pointer by the former Mapua Cardinal capped a closing 7-point run by the Voyagers in the last 64 seconds that reversed the outcome of the game controlled by the Batangas City Rum Masters for a little over 20 minutes.
Patrick Sleat’s floater and triple sparked Pasay’s comeback from as far as 34-47 and as late as 58-64 with only 88 seconds left, pushing the Voyagers record to 3-1 in the elimination round of the country’s top regional league.
Other games saw Rizal Xentromall cruise to a coast-to-coast 9281 victory over South Cotabato and San Juan trounce Iloilo, 106-78. The Voyagers drew 15 points plus 3 rebounds from Sleat, 12 points, 5 rebounds plus 7 assists from Victoria, and 14 points plus 8 rebounds from Warren Bonifacio.
Batangas skidded to a tie with its tormentor at 3-1 as Cedric Ablaza’s 18-point, 12-rebound, 2-steal, 2-block, 2-assist effort went for naught. Levi Hernandez was the other Rum Master in twin digits with 10 points.
Alwyn Alday sparkled for Rizal, which ckimbed to 4-0 and shared the lead with Paranaque and Zamboanga, with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while Villoria provided solid support with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
Tiny Orlan Wamar towered over the field as the San Juan Knights overwhelmed the Iloilo United Royals and improved to 2-0. The 5-foot-6 Wamar tallied game-highs 24 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds plus 4 steals and was instrumental in shoving San Juan to a 104-72 spread. Wamar also joined the MPBL 1,000-point club.