SARANGANI led throughout and drubbed Cebu, 119-95, on Thursday to rev up its drive in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.
Powered by Kyt Jimenez and King Destacamiento, the Sarangani Grippers surged ahead, 35-19, after the first quarter and cruised to their first back-to-back win in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
Jimenez, owner of the MPBL's lone quadruple-double, posted 23 points - highlighted by seven triples - 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals to earn best player honors over Destacamiento, who tallied 21 points, 13 in the first period, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
Other Grippers who shone for Coach John Kallos were Lars Sunga with 19 points, Martin Gozum with 15 points, Jeymark Mallari with 12 points and seven assists and Coy Alves with 11 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists.
The Cebu Classic fielded only eight mostly homegrown players and suffered their third straight defeat despite the 22-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist, two-steal effort of Jeco Bancale.
Sarangani outscored Cebu in the paint, 80-42, and fastbreak, 47-21, to build a 95-69 buffer with nine minutes left.
The MPBL returns to the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando with games pitting Valenzuela against Pasig at 4 p.m., Zamboanga against Batangas at 6 p.m., and host Pampanga against Nueva Ecija 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.
