The Quezon Huskers waxed hot in the second half to batter the Negros Muscovados, 94-66, on Monday and advance to the South Division semifinals of Season 6 of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) at the Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City.
Living up to their top seeding in the South, the Huskers led by as far as 90-55 late in the fourth quarter to duplicate their easy 73-60 victory in Game One and cut short the best-of-three quarterfinal series.
The Huskers will next meet the winner between Paranaque and Zamboanga Master Sardines in another South quarterfinal series. Paranaque stunned Zamboanga, 83-79, in the opener and is seeking a repeat in Game Two being played at press time.
Held to a 27-27 count midway through the second quarter, Quezon took the break at 44-31 before RJ Minerva and Robin Rono presided over Quezon's onslaught in the second half, where Negros' guns fell silent.
The 6-foot-5 Minerva tallied 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in a 20-minute, 26-second stint, while Rono posted 15 points and six rebounds to claim best player honors.
Al Francis Tamsi contributed 15 points and five rebounds while Mon Abundo added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists for Quezon, coached by Eric Gonzales.
Negros, the No. 8 South qualifier, got 20 points and eight assists from Felipe Chavez and 11 points from John Rey Villanueva.
The gang-rebounding Huskers ruled the boards, 48-32, and translated that advantage to a 36-18 edge in points inside the paint.
The MPBL continues on Wednesday with the North Division quarterfinal playoffs pitting Pampanga against Abra at 6 p.m. and Pasay against Nueva Ecija at 8 p.m. at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.
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