ILOILO clamped down on South Cotabato in the third quarter then revved up its offense in the fourth period to tally an 89-83 victory on Wednesday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Trailing by as far as 30-49, the Royals held the Warriors to four points while coming through with 16 to move ahead, 64-63, after the third quarter.
Powered by CJ Cansino, Gwyne Capacio, and Mark Nonoy, Iloilo overcame Christian Fajarito's 11-point explosion in the final frame to post its third straight win and rise to 5-7 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Cansino wound up with 21 points, three assists, three steals, and two blocks, while Capacio finished with 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Nonoy ended up with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals, as RV Berjay contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks for coach MC Abolucion.
South Cotabato saw its seven-game winning streak snapped and slid to 9-4 despite the 23-point, 8-rebound, 5-assist, 2-steal effort of Enzo Joson and the 20-point, 10-rebound output of Fajarito. Jammer Jamito also posted a double-double of 15 points, 12 rebounds, plus 4 assists.
Bicolandia breaks through
Earlier, Bicolandia finally scored its first win after 12 defeats at the expense of Bacolod City of Smiles, 62-61.
Raphy Reyes canned three free throws and Ralph Deles made the second of his two charities to propel Bicolandia ahead, 62-60, with 6.2 seconds to go.
Bacolod's LA Casinilio then made a charity off a technical foul for the final count that pulled down the Bacolenos to 1-12.
Chris Javier led Bicol with 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Deles carded 12 points and 10 rebounds. Homegrown Cyrus Llarena and Reyes chipped in 10 points each.
Bacolod got 19 points and six rebounds from Danny Marilao and 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals from Casinilio.
The MPBL goes to the Caloocan Sports Complex on Thursday with Manila battling Imus at 4 p.m., Sarangani tackling Zamboanga at 6 p.m., and Quezon tangling with Caloocan at 8 p.m.
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