CALOOCAN and Cebu took different routes toward victories in the MPBL 2025 Season on Monday at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo rallied to nip the Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers, 76-75, in the nightcap while the Cebu Classic controlled the second half to beat Quezon City, 69-54, in the second game of another tripleheader.
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The Bacolod Tubo Slashers snapped a long slump with a 70-69 squeaker over the Marikina Shoemasters in the opener.
Caloocan silenced Rizal in the last 1 minute and 40 seconds while coming through with seven points, five by Joco Tayongtong, to tally its fifth win against two losses, tying its victim, Pasay and Zamboanga SiKat in the race for playoff spots.
Nueva Ecija paces the field with a 7-0 slate, followed by San Juan (5-0), Muntinlupa (4-0) and Pasig (2-0). Bunched at 5-1 were reigning back-to-back titlist Pampanga, Quezon Province, Abra and Pangasinan.
Eric Camson capped his 9-point binge with a triple that pushed Rizal ahead, 75-69, but wasted his efforts when he bungled an open layup from under before the final buzzer.
Tayongtong wound up with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Jeff Manday with 11 points and 5 rebounds, Paul Sanga with 9 points plus 3 rebounds, and Antonio Bonsubre with 5 points plus 11 rebounds.
Rizal drew 23 points and 2 rebounds from Alwyn Alday, including 8 straight that gave the Golden Coolers a 62-55 lead, 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks from Camson, and 8 points from Eric Joseph Pili.
Cebu, powered by Jan Jamon, built a 61-42 spread midway through the final quarter before cruising to its third win against four losses.
Jamon finished with 18 points and clinched Best Player honors over Dennis Santos with 10 points and 7 rebounds, Ladis Lepalam with 9 points and 8 rebounds, and Paolo Hubalde with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Quezon City, which skidded to 2-5, got 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists from Jerome Santos and 9 points plus 3 rebounds from Nino Ibanez.
Bacolod ends slide
Bacolod, which went winless for 25 straight games last year before dropping its first two this season, leaned on homegrowns Mark Ray Dubouzet and Jaycee Sam Adjei to hand Marikina its eighth straight defeat.
The 5-foot-9 Dubouzet, from Sagay City, scored Bacolod's last four points to deflect Joshua Roque's triple with 15.5 seconds left.
Although the 6-foot Adjei bungled two free throws with 3.1 ticks to go, he fired six points in the fourth quarter where the Tubo Slashers clawed their way back from a 56-62 hole.
The MPBL returns to the Olivarez College Gymnasium on Tuesday, April 15, with a doubleheader pitting Pasig against Quezon Province at 6 p.m. and host Paranaque against Pasay at 8 p.m.
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