Zamboanga Sikat rode on a closing spurt in the first half to dispose of Valenzuela Classics, 77-57, on Wednesday in the two teams' debut in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Batangas City Coliseum.
The game was close, 29-24, until JP Cauilan, Michael Are, Abdul Sawat and Ichie Altamirano conspired in a 12-point spurt for Zamboanga, which proceeded to lead by as far as 74-51 in the fourth quarter.
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It was 6-foot-5 center James Una, however, who clinched Best Player honors with 10 points and 8 rebounds for Zamboanga.
John Arthur Calisay contributed 10 points and 2 rebounds, Ichie Altamirano added 9 points, all from rainbow territory, and 2 rebounds.
Jul-Aashri Ignacio, Chino Mosqueda, John Edcel Rojas, Sawat and Are chipped in 6 points each in Zamboanga's display of balanced firepower.
Valenzuela got 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists from Jan Fomento, 11 points and 10 rebounds from Kobe Monje, and 7 points, 3 assists and 2 steals from JR Ongteco.
Altamirano's perfect shooting and two triples each from Calisay and Ignacio raised Zamboanga's triples to 10 out of 26 tries. In contrast, Valenzuela drilled in only 4 of 24 attempts.
The MPBL goes to the Cuneta Astrodome on Thursday, with Imus battling Pampanga at 4 p.m., Cebu tackling Caloocan at 6 p.m., and host Pasay tangling with Ilagan Isabela at 8 p.m.
Isabela routed Sarangani, 74-54, in the MPBL seventh season opener on March 8, while Pasay bowed to Nueva Ecija, 72-84, on March 10. Although Imus Braderhood won over Mindoro, 83-75, on March 10, it is the underdog against Pampanga, the reigning back-to-back MPBL champion.
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