QUEZON Province extended its perfect run with a 90-85 wire-to-wire victory over Abra on Saturday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Huskers pulled away by 28 points, 57-29, and used it as buffer to post win No. 16 in the round-robin eliminations of the 29-team tournament.
Comfortably ahead, 87-69, Quezon went into cruise control in the last four minutes, allowing the Weavers to trim the gap before dropping to 10-7.
Jason Opiso led a balanced Huskers offense with 13 points, followed by Gab Banal and Ximone Sandagon with 11 points each, and RJ Minerva and Mon Abundo with 10 apiece.
With Banal, who also grabbed eight rebounds, hitting 3-of-5 long-range attempts, the league-leaders pooled 12 triples out of 29 tries that proved to be the big difference, as Abra could only convert 6 of 28 shots from deep.
The Weavers got 18 points and eight rebounds from Michael Canete, 15 points and seven assists from Roi Sumang, 15 points from Paul Desiderio, and nine points plus 10 rebounds from Mark Yee.
Knights, Rice Vanguards still breathing down Quezon's neck
San Juan also continued its climb with an 82-75 thumping of Quezon City TODA Aksyon in the nightcap, while Nueva Ecija regained its foothold with a 96-86 beating of Negros in the opener.
The Knights bunched 16 points to pull away in the fourth quarter, 75-56, and rise to 14-1, right behind the Huskers and the Pampanga Giant Lanterns (16-1).
Barely ahead, 59-56, San Juan finally shook off its foe as Orlan Wamar poured nine points in the 16-point avalanche that buried QC to an 8-10 record.
Wamar wound up with 19 points and seven assists while Michael Calisaan and Nikko Panganiban provided support with 10 points each.
Quezon City drew 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists Hubert Cani; 22 points from JJ Gesalem; and 10 points plus eight rebounds from Abdul Sawat.
READ: Nueva Ecija posts wire-to-wire win over Negros
Hurting from back-to-back losses, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards led throughout and by as far as 43-28 in improving to 13-2.
The MPBL goes to the San Andres Sports Complex on Monday, with games pitting Sarangani against Pasay at 4 p.m., Mindoro against Paranaque at 6 p.m., and Davao against Manila at 8 p.m.
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