THE Quezon Huskers found their mark from afar and battered the Davao Occidental Tigers, 91-60, on Thursday to remain in sight of the MPBL 2025 Season pacesetters at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.
Former MVP Gab Banal rediscovered his shooting touch while Vince Magbuhos went perfect from the 3-point zone as the Huskers tallied their fifth straight win and climbed to 15-3 in the round-robin elimination phase among 30 teams.
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The Huskers pace the South Division, which they topped last year, and trail North Division leaders and sure playoff qualifiers Nueva Ecija (18-0), Abra (17-1) and San Juan (16-1).
Banal converted 6 of 7 triple tries while Magbuhos, a Fil-Italian out of Adamson University, drilled in 4 of 4 as the Huskers made 18 of 30 triple tries for an impressive 60 percent conversion.
Judel Fuentes joined the sniping party by hitting 3 of 5, Emman Tagle 2 of 3, and Christian Pagaran and Joshua Yerro sinking their lone attempts.
Banal posted 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Fuentes 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Vince Magbuhos 12 points and Tagle 10.
Davao led briefly at 30-27, before Banal turned hot with 3 triples and Rodel Gravera dunked in an 11-point salvo that pushed Quezon ahead, 38-30, for good.
The Pasay Voyagers, powered by acquisition Christian Fajarito, led throughout in an 81-64 demolition of Imus Braderhood in the nightcap.
The 6-foot-6 Fajarito, a former Letran star who played for Binan Tatak Gel, tallied 27 points, laced by four triples, and 5 rebounds to lift Pasay to 12-8.
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Cyrus Tabi supported with 11 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds, followed by Joshua Gallano with 10 points. Germy Mahinay, another recruit, contributed 2 points and 6 rebounds to the Voyagers' cause.
Muntinlupa, which absorbed its sixth straight loss and tumbled to 10-8, got 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks from Ladis Lepalam, 13 points and 4 rebounds from Dom Matillano, and 10 points plus 4 rebounds from Buenaventura Raflores.
The Gensan Warriors pounded the Paranaque Patriots without letup and won, 106-59, in the opener.
Smarting from their 82-86 defeat to the Quezon Huskers on July 1, the Warriors led as far as 104-53 and improved to 12-7.
Kyle Tolentino delivered the most for GenSan with 29 points, aided by five triples, 10 rebounds and 4 steals to earn best player honors over Joel Lee Yu with 14 points, 8 assists and 2 rebounds.
The MPBL goes to the Ynares Center in Pasig with games pitting Bacolod against Ilagan at 4 p.m., Valenzuela against Pangasinan at 6 p.m., and Imus against Cebu at 8 p.m.
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