THE Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers stretched their hot streak by drubbing the Mindoro Tamaraws, 77-61, on Tuesday to earn a share of the lead in the MPBL Season 2025 at the Ynares Center 2 Montalban in Rizal Province.
Powered by Michael Canete and Keanu Caballero, the Golden Coolers led by as far as 77-53 before cruising to their fifth straight win and joining the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards at the top of the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
Caballero stands tall
Canete tallied 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while the 5-foot-6 Caballero posted 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal to clinch Best Player honors in the nightcap of a heavy three-game bill.
Eric Joseph Pili provided help with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and so did Eric Cammson with 8 points and 9 rebounds, making the Golden Coolers among the favorites to secure playoff berths in the two-division regional league.
Mindoro, which tumbled to 1-5, got 17 points and 9 rebounds from Jonas Tibayan and 10 points plus 2 rebounds from Ethan Galang.
Tigers nip Patriots
The Davao Occidental Tigers nipped the Paranaque Patriots, 70-66, in a battle between debuting teams.
Paranaque led 66-65 on two free throws by Paolo Castro with 41.7 seconds to go, but was unable to convert in its last possessions.
Davao, on the other hand, regained control on a follow-up by Wowie Escosio, a charity by Tricky Don Peromingan, then sealed win with two more charities by Justin Alano with 4.5 ticks left.
Valandre Chauca struck for Davao with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, followed by homegrown Allan Beltran with 12 points and 4 rebounds, and Jefferson Comia with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Paranaque lost despite the 21-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist, 3-steal effort of Carl Bryan Cruz and 17-point, 7-rebound, 5-assist output of John Paul Calvo.
The Muntinlupa Cagers also made an instant impact with a 104-78 dumping of the Bulacan Kuyas in the opener.
After Bulacan scored the first three points, Muntinlupa bunched 22 in a span of six minutes and never eased up to hand the Kuyas their sixth straight defeat.
Mart James Barrera notched 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, while Buenaventura Raflores posted 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for the Cagers, who ruled the boards, 54-41, through Mark Sarangay and Dom Matillano with 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
Other Cagers who delivered were John Cantimbuhan with 13 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, and Marvin Hayes with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Muntinlupa also struck from afar with a high of 11 from 22 tries, with Raflores drilling in 3 of 5, Cantimbuhan 2 of 3, and Barrera 2 of 4.
Bulacan got 30 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds from John Rey Sumido and 14 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists from Art Aquino.
The MPBL goes to WES Arena in Valenzuela on Wednesday with another tripleheader pitting Quezon City against Ilagan Isabela on 4 p.m., Marikina against Zamboanga at 6 p.m., and Binan against Valenzuela at 8 p.m.
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