THE Basilan Starhorse Portmasters clobbered the Marikina Shoemasters, 70-51, on Tuesday to extend their win streak and climb to joint fourth in MPBL 2025 Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Powered by Jimboy Pasturan and Renzo Navarro, the Portmasters sailed away, 57-35, before cruising to their seventh straight win and a 17-11 slate - the same record as the Gensan Warriors, Binan Tatak Gel and Zamboanga Sikat in the South Division of the 30-team, two-division tournament.
READ Encho makes Knights pay for focusing too much on Ildefonso
The Quezon Huskers (25-4), the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters (19-9) and the Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers (18-9) are assured of playoff berths in the South.
Pasturan posted 20 points, spiked by five triples, six assists and 2 steals, while Navarro tallied 14 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds for Basilan, which has also-ran Quezon City as its last assignment for the regular season.
Other Portmasters who delivered were Jervy Cruz with 9 points and 7 rebounds, and Sherwin Concepcion, Gab Dagangon and Adi Santos with 6 points each.
With Navarro adding four triples, Concepcion and Dagangon two each, and Cruz one, the Portmasters converted 15 of 31 attempts for a high 48.4 percent, as against the Shoemasters 7 of 17 for 41.2 percent.
Also-ran Marikina tumbled to 4-24 as only Jay Yutuc struck back with 12 points and 3 rebounds.
The MPBL returns to the Orion Sports Complex on Wednesday, with games pitting Bulacan against Pampanga at 4 p.m., Binan against Pasay at 6 p.m., and Bataan against Valenzuela 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.
