PASAY banked on Axel Inigo and Dhon Reverevente to stun Nueva Ecija, 65-64, on Friday in Season 6 of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Inigo knocked in a clutch triple while Reverente scored off a fake and a fallaway one-hander as the Voyagers clawed from a 59-63 deficit in the last 1 minute and 14 seconds to finish the round-robin elimination phase with an 18-10 record, good for the sixth playoff spot in the North Division.
The Rice Vanguards had a chance to reverse the outcome but Kenneth Mocon missed his jumper in the dying seconds, pulling the No. 3-ranked tem down to 24-4.
Nueva Ecija, who did not field starters Will McAloney, Robby Celiz, Byron Villarias and Hesed Gabo, will have the chance to exact revenge on the Voyagers in the best-of-three playoffs where they will have the homecourt edge.
Laurenz Victoria paced Pasay with 14 points and five rebounds, Cyrus Tabi added 12 while and Reverente finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Nueva Ecija drew 13 points and five rebounds from JB Bahio and 11 points plus five assists from Mocon.
Earlier, Jameson Hiro played hero as Imus Agimat nipped Bacolod, 130-127, in a freewheeling battle between doormat teams.
Hiro beat the shot clock with a triple off two defenders as Imus closed its season at 2-26. Bacolod wound up at the cellar at 1-27.
Richard Albo led the 10-man Imus with a career-high 40 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, followed by Hiro with 35 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and two steals.
Bacolod got 25 points, six assists and five rebounds from Ian Pardo.
Imus and Bacolod's combined 257 points tied the MPBL all-time mark of 257 set by Sarangani (134) and Nueva Ecija (123) on June 3, 2023.
The MPBL goes to the Olivarez College Gym on Saturday with games pitting Sarangani against Iloilo at 4 p.m., Marikina against Valenzuela at 6 p.m., and Zamboanga against Manila at 8 p.m.
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