DAVAO Occidental and Paranaque took care of 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 Tigers dominated Mindoro from the get-go en route to an 82-59 decision, as the Patriots caught fire in the fourth quarter to torch home team Bataan, 74-58.
Holding a slim 51-47 lead after the third quarter, Paranaque pulled away behind the guns of John Uduba and JP Sarao to notch their 12th win against seven 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, four rebounds, and four assists, followed by Joshua Gallano with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
The Risers, who skidded to 4-14, got 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists from Jeff Santos; 14 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two blocks from Yves Sazon; and 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists from Jamil Gabawan.
Davao had an even easier time climbing to 13-5, with all 14 players fielded scoring two points or more.
Dariel Bayla presided over the Tigers' balanced offense with 13 points plus eight rebounds and received help from Vincent Campo with 12 points, as well as Kurt Lojera and Jansher Salubre with nine each.
The Tamaraws 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.
Canaleta goes 'Big Ticket'
Binan Tatak Gel, on the other hand, needed KG Canaleta's turnaround jumper at the buzzer to lift them over Rizal Xentromall, 82-80.
Recovering from a near-fumble, the 6-foot-6 former slam dunk king defied the outstretched arm of his defender to give Binan its only taste of the lead after trailing by as far as 47-63.
Canaleta finished with a career-high 30 points, on top of six rebounds and four assists to push his side to its 10th win against seven losses.
Jaymar Gimpayan backstopped him with 13 points, 16 rebounds, plus two steals, and so did Kenny Roger Rocacurva with 10 points, all but one in the fourth quarter where the Golden Coolers actually still led at 67-77 with under four minutes 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.
The Golden Coolers, who 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, 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.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
