Zamboanga SiKat overpowered Davao Occidental, 88-66, on Thursday to rev up its drive in the MPBL 2025 Season ladder at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.
With 13 of its 15 players scoring, Zamboanga quelled Davao's final rally at 57-63 by pounding the boards and posting its biggest spread at the final buzzer.
Zamboanga notched its seventh straight win and climbed to 12-2 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
READ Calahat leads rally as Caloocan hurdles Quezon City
Nueva Ecija paces the chase for playoff berths with a 12-0 slate, followed by Abra (11-1) and San Juan (11-1).
Reigning back-to-back titlist Pampanga halted its slide with an 86-78 victory over Pasay in the nightcap of a triple-bill.
In control throughout the second half, the Giant Lanterns pulled away at 73-53 and fended off the Voyagers' late rally to recover from back-to-back losses and improve to 9-3.
Top gun Archie Concepcion posted 18 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, while big man Larry Muyang tallied 17 points and 6 rebounds for Pampanga.
Other Giant Lanterns who shone were Raymond Binuya with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Chris Lalata with 9 points and 3 rebounds, John Lloyd Clemente with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and Jhaymo Eguilos with 6 points and 8 rebounds.
Pasay fell to 8-6 despite Laurenz Victoria's 24 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, Warren Bonifacio's 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and Cyrus Tabi's 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
John Arthur Calisay led Zamboanga with 15 points, spiked by 4 triples, 5 rebounds and 3 assists; followed by Reggz Gabat with 13 points, including 3 triples, 3 rebounds and 3 assists; JP Cauilan with 12 points, all from triples, and 8 rebounds; and James Paul Una with 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Davao suffered its fifth straight loss and dropped to 3-7, putting to waste Jeff Comia's 19 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Justin Alano's 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, and Valandre Chauca's 12 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Caloocan found its rhythm in the second half and trounced Quezon City Galeries Taipan, 84-71, in the opener.
The MPBL goes to the University of Bangued Gymnasium on Saturday with games pitting Imus against Marikina at 4 p.m., Nueva Ecija against Batangas at 6 p.m., and host Abra against Quezon Province at 8 p.m.
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