THE Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards foiled the Gensan Warriors' final assault to prevail, 83-76, on Saturday and extend their lead in the MPBL 2025 Season at The Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela.
GenSan threatened at 75-77 with 2 minutes and 54 seconds left, but Nueva Ecija stood its ground, holding the Warriors to a free throw while coming through with six out of eight tries to seal their ninth straight win of the season.
Ryan Costelo led Nueva Ecija with 16 points, but Billy Robles emerged as the Best Player by pouring all of his nine points in the fourth quarter and grabbing12 rebounds.
READ Pampanga blasts Pasig to keep in step with MPBL leaders
Other Rice Vanguards who delivered were Christian Manaytay with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks, and John Wilson, the first MPBL player to tally 2,000 points, with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Gensan fell to 4-5 despite homegrown Cristopher Masaglang's 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, Kyle Tolentino's 16 points, Nico Elorde's 14 points, 7 assists and 2 steals, and Marwin Dionisio's 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Chasing Nueva Ecija, the 2022 national champion, in the race for playoff spots are 2019 winner San Juan (7-0), reigning back-to-back titlist Pampanga (8-1), last year's losing finalist Quezon Province (8-1) and Abra Solid North (8-1).
Pampanga torched Pasig, 91-55, in the opener, while Ilagan Isabela stunned Batangas, 82-75, in the nightcap.
Powered by Arth Dela Cruz, the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys pulled away at 79-66 en route to a 5-5 slate.
Dela Cruz wound up with 20 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, 3 assists and 2 steals, followed by Allen Mina with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, Joshua Guiab with 15 points and 3 rebounds, and JR Olegario with 10 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Batangas, the 2018 inaugural MPBL titlist, slipped to 4-5 despite Levi Hernandez's 25 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Pampanga surged ahead, 23-4, after the first quarter and padded that lead till the end.
John Lloyd Clemente led Pampanga with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, followed by Larry Muyang with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and Chris Lalata with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Other Giant Lanterns who shone in their fifth straight win were Archie Concepcion with 10 points and 5 rebounds, and Jhaymo Eguilos with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Pasig, which tasted its fourth straight loss after winning the first two, drew 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals from Christian Rivera and 10 points from homegrown Jerome Garcia.
The MPBL resumes on Monday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig with games pitting Sarangani against Bulacan at 4 p.m., Muntinlupa against Zamboanga at 6 p.m., and San Juan against Caloocan at 8 p.m.
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