DEFENDING champion Pampanga thwarted Abra's repeated rallies, 88-79, on Monday and assured itself of the second spot in the North Division of the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season playoffs.
Shrugging off the disqualification of Justine Baltazar in the last 6 minutes and 24 seconds and Archie Concepcion with 2 minutes and 6 seconds left, the Giant Lanterns leaned on homegrowns MJ Garcia and Raymond Binuya in a fiercely fought game at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas.
Binuya drove in while Garcia made a two-handed slam to punctuate Pampanga's 24th victory against two losses, which pushed them closer to North Division and overall pacesetter San Juan (24-1) in the 29-team tournament.
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Baltazar, the reigning MPBL MVP, fouled out after posting a triple-double of 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to go with 4 blocks. Concepcion, on the other hand, contributed 18 points and 6 assists.
Lervin Flores also shone for Pampanga with 16 points, all in the second half, and 8 rebounds and clinched best player honors. Garcia finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Abra, which dropped to 15-9, got 18 points, spiked by five triples, and 5 rebounds from Mike Yee, 12 points and 3 rebounds from John Lloyd Clemente and 10 points plus 7 rebounds from Ryan Batino.
Earlier, Valenzuela nipped Mindoro, 64-63, to rise to 12-13 and stay in the race for a playoff seat.
Bannered by 6-foot-9 Ladies Lepalam, Paolo Hubalde and Mark Montuano, the Valenzuela Classic led by as many as 56-42 early in the fourth quarter, but the Tamaraws rallied behind Joseph Mark Marquez and Jayvee Dela Cruz.
Mindoro even had the chance to reverse the outcome, but Ken Bono missed a jumper at the buzzer that sent the Tamaraws down to 10-17.
Lepalam chalked 12 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals, Hubalde 11 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, and Montuano 10 points plus 3 assists.
Mindoro got 11 points and 7 assists from homegrown All-Star Jhon Jerrick Caspe and 10 points plus 3 rebounds from Lester Reyes.
The MPBL returns to the Alonte Sports Arena on Wednesday with games pitting Imus against Rizal at 4 p.m., Nueva Ecija against Sarangani at 6 p.m., and Binan against Iloilo at 8 p.m.
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