RIZAL Xentromall trounced also-ran Marikina, 88-73, on Tuesday to book the last playoff ticket in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.
With five Golden Coolers scoring in twin digits, Rizal led by as much as 71-38 en route to their 15th win against 13 losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 29-team tournament.
Daunting playoff task for Rizal
The Golden Coolers matched the Quezon City Toda Aksyon Capitals' record and clinched the eighth and last quarterfinal seat in the Northern Division.
They will be pitted against the San Juan Knights (26-2), the top North qualifier and best overall finisher, in a best-of-three series.
The other qualifiers which will enjoy the homecourt edge like San Juan are No. 2 Pampanga (26-2), No. 3 Nueva Ecija (24-4) and No. 4 Manila (19-8).
Defending champion Pampanga will be pitted against No. 7 Abra (18-10), Nueva Ecija against No. 6 Pasay (18-10) and Manila against Caloocan (19-9), which dumped also-ran Sarangani, 78-52, earlier in the day.
Marco Balagtas paced Rizal with 19 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, followed by John Apacible with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Kraniel Villoria tallied 13 points, Valandre Chauca 12, and Alwyn Alday 10.
Marikina (7-21) got 24 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds from Ahron Estacio.
The MPBL takes a break and will resume for the playoffs on Oct. 5 at the FilOil EcoOil Arena with the Manila-Caloocan encounter set at 6 p.m. and the Rizal-San Juan tussle at 8 p.m.
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