BASILAN Starhorse rode on Arwind Santos and Emman Calo in the fourth quarter to subdue Bataan, 84-70, and join the middle pack in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
Santos fired 11 of his 15 points, and Calo seven of his nine in that span as Basilan pulled away, 73-54, en route to an even 8-8 slate in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
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Counting his four rebounds and 2 assists, Santos was given Best Player honors over fellow veteran Alex Cabagnot, who posted 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals; James Tempra with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; and Adi Santos with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Basilan ruled the boards, 50-40, and showed more cohesion with 27 assists against Bataan's 11, to relegate the Risers to 6-12.
Bataan got 14 points and 8 rebounds from homegrown Yves Sazon; 12 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds from Hubert Cani; 11 points from Mitchelle Maynes, and 10 points from Lorenz Capulong and Jared Loi Vento.
Calo also posted 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Gab Dagangon added 8 points and 5 rebounds for Basilan, which had won four of its last five games.
The MPBL goes to the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Thursday with games pitting Bulacan against Mindoro at 4 p.m., Imus against Bacolod at 6 p.m., and host San Juan against Pangasinan at 8 p.m.
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