BASILAN Starhorse bested Ilagan Isabela, 67-61, on Monday and revved up its playoff drive in MPBL 2025 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
A reverse layup by Alex Cabagnot, followed by a hurried, contested jumper by Emman Calo in the homestretch,sealed the Portmasters' 13th win against 11 losses that fortified their hold of the eighth slot in the South Division of the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team, 2-division tournament.
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Cabagnot wound up with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while Calo posted 18 points and 7 rebounds. Reymar Caduyac supported with 11 points plus 4 assists, and so did Arwind Santos with 15 rebounds, 4 points and 3 blocks, and Gab Dagangon with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
The Cowboys slid to 13-12, but kept the eighth spot in the North Division.
Only Agem Miranda struck back for the Cowboys with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Manila Batang Quiapo caught fire in the fourth quarter and routed Bulacan, 115-98, in the opener.
After climbing out of a 16-point hole, 49-65, and knotting the count at 77, the Manilenos turned to Joe Gomez De Liano, Achie Inigo and Alfred Sedillo in the last 10 minutes to catch up with the Kuyas at 3-20 in the North Division.
De Liano, the reigning MPBL slam dunk champion, and Inigo tallied 10 points each while Sedillo added 9 as they surpassed the Kuyas' 21-point output in that span.
De Liano wound up with 35 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to earn Best Player honors over Sedillo, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, and Inigo with 18 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds.
Stephen Torralba supported them with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Bulacan drew 18 points and 9 rebounds from Maclean Sabellina, 15 point, 8 rebounds and 5 assists from Marlon Monte, and 12 points plus 5 rebounds from Airohn Acop.
Weather-permitting, the MPBL goes to the Robert Estrella Sr. Memorial Gym on Tuesday, with games pitting Pampanga against Muntinlupa at 4 p.m., Mindoro against Abra at 6 p.m., and Pangasinan against Caloocan at 8 p.m.
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