ZAMBOANGA SIKAT broke free in the third quarter and never wavered to beat Sarangani, 82-67, on Monday and join the leaders in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Bataan People's Center in Balanga City.
The count was tight, 39-38 at the half until Ichie Altamirano fueled a 14-4 Zamboanga run that left Sarangani behind till the end.
Zamboanga, powered by Paul Turcu, James Paul Una, Abdul Sawat and John Edcel Rojas, improved to 2-0 and shared the top spot with Abra, Pangasinan and Rizal in the round-robin elimination round of the 30-team tournament.
Turcu catches fire
Turcu fired 15 points and snagged 9 rebounds to earn Best Player honors. Una posted 13 points and 11 rebounds, Rojas tallied 12 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, and Sawat 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for Zamboanga Coach Egay Macaraya.
Sarangani suffered its third straight defeat despite Martin Gozum's 18-point, 5-rebound, 3-assist effort.
The Grippers also got 13 points from Arvie Bringas, 11 from Adven Jess Diputado and 10 from Larce Christian Sunga.
Dominant off the boards, 57-41, Zamboanga could have pulled away even farther if not for its poor free throw shooting, converting only 8 of 20 attempts.
The MPBL goes to the Caloocan Sports Complex on Tuesday with games pitting Batangas against Imus at 4 p.m., Pampanga against Marikina at 6 p.m., and Caloocan against Mindoro at 8 p.m.
The defending champions Pampanga Giant Lanterns are seeking a second straight win while the Batangas City Tanduay Rhum Masters are seeking redemption after being humbled by the Quezon Huskers, 70-46, at home on March 12.
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